


Team Work

by corneroffandom



Category: Lucha Underground, Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment, 新日本プロレス | New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2018-12-05 20:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 156
Words: 231,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11585322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corneroffandom/pseuds/corneroffandom
Summary: Stephanie decides, to try to encourage interest in WWE, to host a show all her own boasting a concept never tried before. (Story was begun in 2015)





	1. Prologue

A/N: Last night Scott Weiland passed away. For those of you who may not know him, go look up Stone Temple Pilots. You're welcome. He was one of the best performers in the 90s when grunge and rock was hitting its peak and it only seems fitting that, since I decided to start this story tonight, I would dedicate it to him. RIP, Scott, and thank you for all of the music you brought into the world.

Ratings are down. It's affecting all of the McMahons, yes, to varying degrees. Her dad pretends that he's not bothered by it, but there's no way that he isn't truly spending sleepless nights pacing, trying to think of a way to fix things. Hunter, he has things with NXT under control, but it's clear Raw's free fall is bothering him too. He wants to make changes, they all do, but with Vince at the helm still, well, there's only so much to be done.

Stephanie McMahon-Helmley bites at her lower lip, staring out over Stamford, Connecticut's skyline, lost in thought. She peeks around the internet sometimes, sees what people on Twitter are saying, forum discussions, all of the things that Hunter and her dad ignore for the most part. And yeah, some of it is ridiculous, the things they say, but some actually makes sense. One thing had been weighing on her as ratings steadily declined and fans' enjoyment of the product fell, taking morale in the back with it.

 _The more you see of someone, the more likely you are to grow sick of them._ She hums and taps her fingers against the window plane, tilting her head. What she's thinking about, it would take a lot of legal maneuvering. She'd have to convince her father, her husband, the board of directors. It'd be a gamble, but perhaps it would give the superstars and divas a little more motivation, and quiet some of the unrest from the audience that's sure to spread if allowed to continue unchecked.

 _Let Daddy have his power, and let Hunter have his fun with NXT,_ she muses. _This may be a gamble... but I usually have pretty good luck._ Smirking at her reflection, Stephanie turns and heads for the phone, already making a list of things that will need to be done.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why the hell are we here?" the loud, familiar voice of Kevin Owens demands, already bored of this. "What's going on?"

A group of WWE superstars and divas are standing around, waiting patiently- or impatiently, in some of their cases-, brows furrowing when the doors open and, instead of Stephanie McMahon entering, other wrestlers from other federations walk inside. Immediately the WWE workers group together more tightly, frowning at the growing flood of indy competitors, TNA guys, ROH people. "What the hell?" Dean Ambrose mumbles, growing more and more antsy as he picks at the tape around his wrist, watching them all with a grimace.

_Finally,_ once the room fills up more, Stephanie McMahon joins them, watching with a vague smile as the various wrestlers group together, seemingly content to stay with those they work with instead of approaching the competition. "Hello, everyone," she greets them, her voice echoing through the room and attracting everyone's attention. "I'm sure you're all very curious as to why you're here. Well, I'll make this as brief as possible as you all are very busy people." She smooths her skirt down and stands up taller. "As times evolve, we need to too. All of you are probably aware that wrestling as a whole is struggling now to gain a foothold in this competitive climate. My husband and my father both have their own little projects and strategies, but there is something I want to try."

Murmurs break out at this, all eyes on her, and she grins, pausing for a moment to clear her throat, collect her thoughts. "Competition is a good thing, it always has been. It always will be." She takes a few steps around the room, training her eyes on all of the wrestlers, the various staff members of the different wrestling federations. "I want to experiment with something. See if perhaps fans would enjoy it. Build up some good will after a year that's been tough on everyone, in varying ways."

Turning to some fliers stacked up on a table, she passes them around, waiting until they're scattered amongst the groups sufficiently. "Once a week, we're going to hold an event that will air on WWE Network. Every three months, whoever's won the most matches during that time will go on to select one championship they'd like to compete towards. It can be any title, it can be in any federation. For example, say a WWE superstar wins, they can go ahead and compete for the ROH title, or the NJPW title."

She looks out over the faces- some intrigued, some skeptical- and forces a smile. "Of course, this will require us to modify the terms of your contracts, revisions are to be made over here at the tables. It's the changes you would expect- more dates, more money, and we will do away with the non-compete clause for those of you interested in doing this. Form lines, for each federation, and your general managers will answer any questions you may have and walk you through the changes to your contracts."

She steps aside and watches with a small smile as the lines grow, more and more of the competitors intrigued by the chance for more competition, more opportunity.

"Will Superstar and Main Event matches be counted, bro?" she overhears Zack Ryder ask, her eyes rolling subtly even as a thrill of pleasure tickles down her spine.

_My idea's going to be a success, you'll see, Daddy, Hunter._


	3. Chapter 3

There had been a lot of things to work out with the new show, tentatively titled Team Work. Stephanie had to put a lot of thought into venues, match types, booking and timeslots for the show itself, but finally they had tacked it onto Superstars tapings on Fridays, careful to be flexible for what shows may be happening on Fridays. It was a headache, but in a good way, and once everything is straightened out, Stephanie is pleased with what she's accomplished.

The first show is bustling already. WWE, TNA and ROH crew and competitors are wandering around, avoiding the opposing shows' workers, and all in all things are starting off smoothly. Considering, it could be a lot worse. Tension, Stephanie can live with. Brawls in the backstage area, not so much. "To be fair," she announces after collecting everyone so she can talk to them before the event starts, "we put together the matches that will be held tonight randomly. If you have a problem, we are opened to suggestions but I hope you won't need to." She looks from person to person before nodding and leaving the room.

The event starts a few minutes later and Neville heads to the ring. After racing out, making sure he doesn't trip over his cape, he gets into the ring and waits as ROH's Kyle O'Reilly joins him. They stare at each other, weighing the situation, trying to figure out how to start when neither knows the other all that well. The match is intense, competitive.

The two men go back and forth, exchanging blows and Neville trying to avoid O'Reilly's submission attempts long enough to escape to the top rope, where he can do the bulk of his offense, but Kyle is fast, and recovers in kind, battering Neville down and weakening him until he can barely stand with kicks and punches that soon leaves Nevilly floundering after a hard fall to the floor below, dizzy. Kyle drags him back into the ring and he takes a swing and misses, soon finding himself on the mat, locked in the gullotine choke, which quickly sequences into the triangle choke. He can't breathe, dark spots are floating before his vision and nothing is making much sense except for his body screaming for oxygen.

He has no choice but to tap, too weak to fight out, and as O'Reilly's music plays, he lays there and stares up at the lights, certain that he'd already ruined his chances in this new opportunity at becoming champion. He sits up groggily and looks up as Kyle offers him a hand, reluctantly taking it and pulling himself up. They shake hands and Neville half-smiles, congratulating him before leaving the ring so Kyle can have some time enjoying his fans' response to this. "Thankfully Miz isn't here, he'd never let me here the end of this," he mumbles grudgingly.

Erick Rowan defeats TNA's Manik, the former X-Division champion's speed not enough against his strength and anger.

ROH's Roderick Strong makes his way to the ring once Manik is helped backstage, peering out at the crowd. The cheers quickly quiet, some scattered boos around the arena as Alberto Del Rio makes his way to ringside. Strong locks eyes with him, remembering when he'd been in ROH briefly a year ago, and sneers. They _do_ shake hands, although Alberto seems disgusted with it and moves away as quickly as he can. They tie up and Roderick tries, but Alberto gets the upperhand. Alberto tries to disrespect him by pinning his shoulders to the mat in the first minute.

Roderick kicks out, though, and immediately chops Alberto until he can stand, striking again and again and again until Alberto is struggling to catch his balance, glowering fiercely at Strong. They fight back and forth, Strong now fighting to stay standing, before Alberto hits him into the turnbuckle and dazing him even worse. Strong struggles and chokes as Alberto tangles him up in the second rope and then crashes down upon his chest, forcing more oxygen from his lungs... before Alberto tangles him up in his patented armbar.

That thankfully is all that Roderick needs to regain some of his breath, fighting to lift Alberto, and somehow it works and he twists him up into a powerbomb, sending him crashing down so hard that Strong is pretty sure he's just heard Alberto's teeth clicking together. Pinning Alberto's arms behind his shoulders, he pulls off a Gory neckbreaker, relieved when finally the three count is admistrated and Roddy wins. He tries to leave just for Alberto to recover and kick him in the side of the head, effectively downing him.

Not that it matters, Strong wins, there's nothing anyone can do about it, but it makes Alberto leave with some of his anger quenched, so Roddy thinks it's close enough.

Goldust defeats Nick Jackson after avoiding a few sweet chin musics and confusing him more and more each time. Bray Wyatt ruins TNA's Tigre Uno with an almost tender kiss to the forehead and an awful looking Sister Abigail. Kofi and Xavier both lose in individual matches, Kofi loses to TNA's Mandrews, and Xavier loses to Bobby Fish.

With no other women wrestling matches held in the other promotions, Stephanie had decided on having a triple threat female's match between Charlotte, Becky and Sasha. Charlotte had gotten knocked out on the outside of the ring, Becky and Sasha battling back and forth, Sasha trying to get the upperhand and keeping it, but Becky fights back harder than she'd expected and before long she's struggling out of the disarmer, her shoulder starting to throb down to her elbow. Sasha has just hit her knees against Becky's midsection while she hung helplessly from the ropes when Charlotte sneaks into the ring and boots her in the face before hiting a swinging neckbreaker on Sasha. Once sure Sasha is taken care of, she scrambles over and traps Becky in the figure eight. Becky has no way out except to tap, and Sasha is no help as she struggles to regain her footing after the vicious sequence of moves

Fresh off of his WWE title win, Roman Reigns is confident. Maybe _too_ confident as it leaves him vulnerable and understimating TNA's Bobby Roode. His smug certainty mixed with Roode's experience isn't a good combination and before he realizes what happens, his spear attempt is reversed by a lariat and then he feels himself get lifted into a fisherman's suplex, Roode bridging it back into a pin that Roman is too in shock and dizzy to kick out from.

Matt Jackson beats Titus O'Neil with a flurry of superkicks and a facebuster, and then Stephanie comes out to mixed response. "Hello, everyone," she greets the audience. "I hope you've enjoyed the action tonight. As I explained at the start of the show, these matches will all determine a future #1 contender to any belt of their choosing at any federation they prefer. Unfortunately we can't have matches for _everyone_ eligible to compete, so instead we'll be having a 14 man battle royal before the main event." She smiles and waves before leaving so the ring could soon fill up with the competitors.

Within a couple of minutes, Rusev, Bubba, Ziggler, Big E, Kalisto, Sin Cara, Harper, Devon **,** Swagger, Jey, Sheamus, Jimmy and Fandango are in the ring with Ambrose making his way down last, which clearly has Sheamus angry. The brawl is fast and intense at first, with Sin Cara getting eliminated early by Rusev. Kalisto grimaces down at his tag partner but quickly turns and kicks Rusev in the head when he tries to do the same, quickly getting to safety. The ring is still too full to comfortably do many moves off of the turnbuckles safely, so Kalisto fights from the mat as best as he can, eventually sending Bubba to the floor with a rough frenzy of kicks and then a lariat.

Ambrose and Ziggler doubleteam Rusev out of the ring a little later and, for a moment, everyone breathes a little easier. Until Sheamus begins attacking everyone, going roughshod until he brogue kicks Luke Harper out of the ring. Fandago goes next thanks to Sheamus, and then Ziggler takes a dive, his hair going every which way as he hits the mat and bounces ridiculously. Kalisto had lasted awhile, and thinks he has some sort of game plan, either without his tag partner there to help... but then he gets clipped with a brogue kick and drops back, allowing Sheamus enough time to lift him up and throw him over the rope, Kalisto whimpering as he hits the floor ruthlessly.

Sheamus turns his attention on Ambrose and soon enough, he's gone too, but Sheamus goes a minute later as the Usos, Devon Dudley, Big E and Swagger work together to get rid of him. Swagger is next, Big E taking him out, and then clotheslining both Usos out when they're not expecting it, eyes locked on Swagger below. Both twins go and then... it's down to Devon and Big E. They examine each other and Devon smirks. "We've already seen tonight how experience trumps enthusiasm, so, kid, what do you have?"

They fight back and forth. Big E is good, but he has his weaknesses. Devon waits until the best opportunity comes and then snags him and uses a leaping shoulder block to make him teeter against the rope. "C'mon, son." He leans back, then runs forward, hitting him again and again with his shoulder and feeling Big E finally about to teeter. Another hard strike and the man goes down, still clinging to the ring apron though. Devon responds with a drop kick and smirks, watching him fall to the ground helplessly.

After that, a somber kind of tension fill the arena as the main event prepares to start. Braun Stowman comes out and the crowd shifts awkwardly as he makes his way quietly to ringside, the other members of the Wyatt Family not with him. He's never wrestled much, very little is known about him, so when his opponent comes out, Zema looks all around anxious and worried. But, credit to him, he walks into the ring anyway and eyes Strowman, flexing his wrist around and trying to loosen himself up. Their styles are so vastly different that Strowman is generally still standing there whenever DJ Z finishes his latest attack sequence, DDTs, and DDTs. When Strowman is wavering, he goes to the top rope and prepares for a senton, but Strowman gets up and grips his throat, forcing him back down.

_I need something different to do,_ he chokes out, scrabbling at Strowman's hands desperately. He kicks and kicks again, finally catching Strowman in the eye, opening him up and sptallering blood all around. It seems to fascinate Strowman because he lets DJ Z go and stares at the blood staining his hand as DJ Z gets back up, finding his way to a more defenseable position. They stare at each other and Zema tries again, and again, finally ducking under Strowman's attempt at grabbing him and strikes his legs with his knees, sending the man toppling down. This is the opportunity Zema's been looking for as he hits a snapmare driver on him before rushing for the top rope. A 630 senton later, followed by a 450 splash just in case, he pins him and closes his eyes as the three count is achieved.

He ignores the pain throbbing through his body and scrambles out before Strowman could recover and try to attack him further, gripping his sore chest and head. Nodding once he realizes that he's succeeded, he heads up the ramp to leave but Stephanie comes out and stops him at the top of the ramp, patting his arm with a small smile before turning to look at the crowd. "I just wanted to say thank you all for coming, and this is only the beginning because we'll be back next week ... and the week after... So we will see you then and happy holidays!"

They leave as Strowman storms up the ramp, thunder and murder in his eyes, but Zema makes sure he's long gone before the situation could escalate further. He smirks and looks at himself in the mirror. "I _definitely_ plan on being here next week..."


	4. Chapter 4

The second week of the new show starts off smoothly enough. Being that it's a holiday week, ROH and WWE are the only federations with shows, so the arena isn't as full as the week prior. Most are tired from the holidays and their regular responsibilities, so it's a relief. ROH just had its last PPV of the year and WWE is still adjusting to its new world champion, so the backstage area is a bit subdued, all of the wrestlers watching as the first match starts and Kofi defeats Matt Sydal with a sharp roundhouse kick to the face.

Fresh off of losing the Boys to Dalton Castle, Silas Young defeats Erick Rowan with _Misery_ , to the surprise of most of those watching. The next match is Tyler Breeze vs Rhett Titus, and Rhett starts off with a solid forearm to Tyler's face, the so-called _Prince of Pretty_ reacting like he's been shot, rolling away and kicking out, hitting Rhett in the face and chest as he tries to advance again. They trade punches for awhile until Tyler sweeps the legs out from under Rhett, tangling him up in a Boston crab until he finds the bottom rope and holds on with everything he's got until the referee forces him to break the hold. The two men struggle for dominance, Rhett close to hitting his frog splash from the top, but Tyler reacts and gets his knees up, dazing Rhett just long enough to hit the Unprettier and pin Rhett to a three count.

Neville faces off with Roderick Strong and, after responding to his attempt at a neckbreaker with a solid kick that leaves Roddy barely able to focus, he climbs to the top rope and hits Red Arrow to victory. Jay Lethal vs Dean Ambrose is next and the general consensus of the locker room is eagerness to see how Lethal handles Ambrose's craziness. In the end, although Dean tries again and again to overwhelm Jay's simple, raw ability, he can't cinch in anything well enough to lead to the Dirty Deeds and before long, he finds himself losing to the Lethal Injection, Jay laughing down at him before leaving the ring smugly.

Hanson faces off with Mark Henry and the World's Strongest Slam cinches the victory for him, while Ryback defeats ACH with one of his meathook clotheslines.

Stephanie watches all of this from backstage before summoning the women wrestlers to her office. As they mill around, staring at each other with varying levels of distrust, she gets their attention by clearing her throat loudly. "As you know, I have no say in the matches made at these events. They're randomized, and so are tag matches." She paces around a bit. "We're going to have a triangle tag match with the six of you." Pausing to stare at the women, she takes in their reactions or lack there of. Naomi, Charlotte, and Tamina take it in quietly but Paige, Sasha and Becky have no problem letting their true feelings out over the situation.

"It can't be changed now," Stephanie says to curtail the complaints filling the air. "Paige will be teaming with Sasha against Charlotte and Naomi against Tamina and Becky."

The three teams stare at each other, with no lack of dislike in any of their gazes. "Let's get this over with," Paige grumbles, pushing out of the room with the anger of someone trapped doing something she knows she's going to despise. And she's not wrong. It's awkward and unpleasant from the moment it starts. Tags are unneccesary as one member of each team is allowed in at all times, forcing their partners to watch and wait for a tag. Which is rare but does happen as Paige gets tagged out to an overly eager Sasha, the boss immediately leaping into the fray as the referee pushes Paige back onto the ring apron. She watches and grits her teeth, pacing the apron for a few moments before going in to help when Charlotte and Becky begin to work together against Sasha despite being on opposing teams tonight.

Eventually Naomi and Tamina are tagged in and the three members of Team Bad stare at each other, perplexed. Sasha stares at her sisters-in-arms for a moment before lunging past them and tagging Paige in, all but laughing in her face as she gets into the ring and immediately gets rammed by Naomi, knocking off of her feet. Tamina overwhelms her with strikes and kicks, slamming her down, and between the two of them, she can't do much. Becky doesn't seem to like it but Naomi takes care of her, Tamina barely blinking an eye as Naomi looks from her to Sasha and then slams her leg across Paige, pinning her to a victory for her and Charlotte's makeshift team.

As Paige trudges up the ramp, growing more and more incensed, Team Bad's laughter is getting to her, even though she can barely hear them through the sounds from the crowd. She turns and runs back, hitting Sasha from behind and locking in the PTO on her until Tamina and Naomi realize, rushing to aid her. It's too late, though. Paige releases her and rolls out of the ring, teeth gritted angrily as she stumbled back up the ramp.

In another random tag match, Kevin Owens and Luke Harper defeat Alex Shelley and Raymond Rowe, most of the locker room unnerved at the thoughts of Owens alligning himself with the Wyatt family. When Del Rio loses to Kenny King, however, the entire locker room goes quiet. Still. Wondering what this could mean for the US champion with John Cena's return upcoming. Smelling blood in the water, the sharks of the locker room begin to grin hungrily.

Elgin and Swagger follow this with a wild, no-nonsense brawl that begins with solid haymakers to the face and ends with the most ridiculous chain of suplexes and bodyslams that any of them have ever seen, one that Elgin eventually gets the upperhand on. The next match is a gauntlet. Adam Cole paces the ring, preparing for his opponents while acting as smug as ever, insisting that he's Adam Cole _baybay,_ as if the crowd didn't already know that... but the more that he succeeds, first defeating Stowman with ridiculously affective X-Plex that most wouldn't have thought possible, then ignoring Bray's inordinate creepiness and mindgames to lay him out with a front flip piledriver, the fans in attendance alternate between supporting his ridiculous abilities and shunning his ever-growing ego.

He faces off with Bubba Ray Dudley, and Bubba insults, smack talks him awhile, before laying the first punch across his pretty-boy face. Cole takes a minute to wipe at the spreading pain along his jaw before diving at Bubba. It only takes a few minutes, Bubba not expecting the former ROH champion's ability or tenacity. When he goes down with a reverse DDT, there's not much he can do about it. Cole laughs and belittles the crowd the entire walk up the ramp afterwards, thoroughly a winner.

The main event is a five on four elimination tag match. Stephanie had fretted over the numbers, but there was no help for it. Randomization had won out again and so it's Rusev, Bo Dallas, Devon Dudley and Jey Uso vs Titus O'Neil, Jimmy Uso, Roman Reigns, Kane and Big E. Weird teams, to be sure, but she assumes it'll be something of an interesting match.

Kane and Rusev demand to start the night off for their respective teams and the two brawl for awhile, exchanging punches and forearms before Kane gets rocked by a hard fist to his temple. This is all it takes for Rusev to smell blood and before long, Kane is locked in the accolade, fighting to stay strong, to get to the rope. But there's nothing for it, Rusev forces him by the arms back to the middle of the ring, Kane's screams of agony at the move leaving them all just a little breathless and a lot uncomfortable as he taps desperately.

_No one_ wants in the ring with the large man after this, but finally Roman takes over, entering. Rusev sneers at him for a few moments before turning and tagging in D-Von. It's short, the man only getting in a few punches and a slam before Roman puts him out of his misery with a sharp Superman Punch that leaves him sprawled out at Roman's feet. It _had_ been even, 4 on 4, at that, but now... Rusev sneers and tries to get back in, but Jey answers the call. Jey faces off with his cousin, feeling the call of the opportunity before them. "Nothing personal," is all he says, the simple words echoing in both of their minds as Roman takes him out with a spear a few moments later.

Rusev finally enters then, barely offering a glance over his shoulder at his only remaining partner, Bo Dallas. He takes out Titus O'Neil, Jimmy Uso, and Big E like they were nothing. Bo is cheering, because now they're even, and it takes everything in Rusev to not grab him by the hair and throw him into the ring... but then his patience snaps and he does just that, unaware that this, for whatever reason, counts as a tag to the ref. Unaware that Roman is standing right there and he grabs Bo in midair. Rusev thinks quickly and catches Roman in the jaw with his boot, Bo's added weight enough to wind Roman when he hits the mat, leaving him suspectible to a pin.

Bo stares at Rusev worriedly once they're alone, having won the match... and, when Rusev doesn't make a move towards him, barely responding to anything, he takes his victory lap around the ring once or twice before making his way back up the ramp and far away from Rusev's silent, intense glare. "I won!" he squeals once out of sight of his fellow wrestlers and the fans. "Yeah! All I had to do was bo-lieve!"


	5. Chapter 5

Stephanie McMahon stands at the top of the ramp, overseeing the start of the brand new show. Fans are still excited, waving signs and waiting for her to speak, but it's the end of the year. They're all tired from the holiday tour, the holidays themselves, and general day to day monotony. Still, she fights to keep this from her voice as she finally addresses the audience. "Hello, everyone. As it is the end of the year, and many federations have opted to instead have year in review specials on TV, WWE is the only one touring this week and thus we have opted to have one match tonight."

Met with boos, Stephanie hides her smirk, pleased that the fans enjoy the prior format so much that met with the prospect of having only one match to enjoy tonight is bothering them this badly. "A 21 man battle royal," she explains, quickly shutting them up and turning most of the boos into cheers. "But first, a triple threat divas match!" More cheers and Stephanie can't help but look pleased this time as she turns and leaves.

It's Sasha Banks vs Alicia Fox vs Brie Bella and it's clear the three of them want to win badly as they exchange blows and kicks, trying to unseat the other. The fact that Brie and Alicia are friends, almost sisters in the back, matters very little as Sasha gets knocked out of the ring and they go at it, Alicia's attempt at hitting Brie with a scissorkick being thwarted, all of her momentum stopped entirely as Brie kicks her repeatedly in the chest with herrecreation of her husband's kicks. Alicia gasps for air once the onslot eases and rolls out of the ring, clutching her midsection and struggling to breathe.

Sasha slinks her way back into the ring and attacks Brie, winding her almost worse than Alicia is currently, forcing her into the corner and sprawling her across the turnbuckles before climbing up and slamming her knees into the prone woman's abs. As Brie crumbles and struggles not to melt in a puddle of pain, Sasha traps her in her submission hold, wrenching back on her extremities until Brie taps out, Alicia unable to do anything but watch from outside as the chance of victory slips out of her fingers once more.

Once the three of them leave ringside, Alicia supporting Brie up the ramp to the back, the two of them seemingly having a contest to see who can apologize the louder, the battle royal starts. There are so many men in the ring at once that it's hard to keep track of the action going on between the ropes. It takes a few minutes but things begin to clear out, finally, as Cena eliminates Stowman just to get thrown over the top himself by Sheamus, Barrett and Rusev. Afterwards, the three men celebrate as if they'd just won the match before sprawling out to avoid getting caught in a vulnerable position.

Devon Dudley is eliminated next, then Ryback and Kalisto. By now the ring is much easier to examine and the audience gasps and oohs as more eliminations come close to happening, only the wrestlers' agility and control over their bodies keeping them in for as long as possible. Sheamus loses track, so determined to make Ambrose and Roman pay, that he's eliminated next, Darren Young with him for good measure when the former Shield brothers revive enough to toss him over their shoulders and over the top rope.

Tyler Breeze, in an attempt to eliminate Bubba, instead finds himself on the apron just to get kicked off entirely by Neville, who then races around the ring and tries to eliminate Titus O'Neil just to get eliminated himself when Harper clotheslines them both to the outside to the crowd's displeasure. Dolph goes next thanks to Mark Henry, and then there are ten. Strategies start getting formed, more calculating moves are made, and things start going slower. Wade is eliminated next, landing on his feet on the outside after getting pushed out by Mark Henry and Bubba. He throws a fit but leaves, Rusev's gaze heavy on his back as he goes.

There are a few more sudden eliminations after this, Roman and Dean working together to eliminate Mark Henry just to get tossed over the sides themselves by Rusev. Bubba goes next, and Rusev squares off with Harper, the two of them exchanging blows and vicious yells before Harper is gone. This leaves Rusev with Big E, R-Truth and Jack Swagger, and he makes fast work of R-Truth, turning to do the same to Swagger just to find that he's already over the top rope, Big E looking smug as Rusev focuses on him.

They stare at each other for a few moments before each taking slow, careful steps towards the other until they meet in the middle of the ring. The brawl that follows, with punches and forearms and kicks, all sorts of offense that makes the crowd gape, is ridiculous and painful looking. They struggle to the ropes, Rusev is dominating Big E, about to sling him up and over, when... Big E gets a shoulder under his bulk and lifts him up and sends him sprawling to the floor below. Rusev lays there in shock and horror before realizing that he had lost.

Scrambling into the ring and destroying Big E all over again sounds promising but his body is aching and he's exhausted of all of this so instead he flaps his arms helplessly at the match result and heads backstage allowing Big E to celebrate his first win of the New Year. _If I have my way,_ Rusev thinks grimly, _it will be his last._


	6. Chapter 6

With the holidays behind them, ROH resumes its regular television schedule. As does TNA, against all odds. More matches means more competition on Stephanie's show, and she's pleased as she looks over the card, nodding and humming thoughtfully at some of the match ups, curious to see how things will end up. The first match is Bobby Roode vs Goldust and she more listens than watches it goes on, busy finalizing some things for the rest of the show. Bobby Roode eventually wins and she grimaces, hating when the show starts off like _that_ but know that sometimes it'll just be inevitable.

Heath Slater comes out next, revitalized after his introduction of the Social Outcasts to the audience on Monday Night Raw, and gets into the ring, loosening up and trying to prepare himself mentally for his upcoming match. Stephanie _almost_ feels sympathy towards the competitors not aware of what they're getting into against new opponents, with different wrestling styles and traditions. For this reason, Heath looks confused when Roderick Strong enters the ring and holds his hand out, the customary pre-match ritual of Ring of Honor as a sign of respect to opponents.

At his core, though, Heath is a southern gentleman so he meets Roddy halfway and shakes his hand uncertainly before letting go, casting a suspicious glance around as if expecting to get jumped at some point. Roddy, though, barely responds and they lock up in the middle of the ring in a power struggle that Heath eventually wins by taking the legs out from under Roddy. But Roddy isn't ROH television champion for nothing, so he twists away and sets him up for the kneeling powerbomb, leaving Heath defenseless against the elevated Boston crab that follows.

Heath scrambles and fights his way to the bottom rope, clinging on until the referee separates them, Roddy preparing for another offensive attack when Heath hits him hard with a dropkick that sends Roddy back against the ropes, more than a little dazed. Heath follows up with a clothesline and then a powerslam, trying to weaken him enough for the Smash Hit, but Roderick regains enough composure to snag him and hit a brutal backbreaker that takes the breath from Heath, opening him up for a Crucifix cutter and the pin.

Afterwards, Davey Richards beats R-Truth with a discus roundhouse kick, and Michael Bennett takes out Dolph Ziggler with a sitout side slam. Neville's highflying moves prove too much for Matt Hardy, and Eddie Edwards continues the Wolves' winning ways by defeating Big E.

The crowd, although reacting to these matches well enough, are revived when a six man elimination match is announced and Ethan Carter the Third comes out first, his TNA title held proudly on his shoulder. He enters the ring and waits, watching curiously as his next opponent arrives. Lashley. He barely flinches, all too confident now- he had beat Lashley in the finals of the very tournament that had given him this title belt, after all. The next two challengers- Kalisto and Trevor Lee- makes him smirk a little, but it's the next one that garners the most response, a bizarre kind of glint in his eyes as Rockstar Spud's music hits, the audience automatically responding with cheers and chants for the underdog. Ethan sneers and rolls his eyes, stepping back to watch as Spud gets on the top rope and makes a U with his fingers. Everyone pauses when the last challenger's music hits, even Ethan thrown a bit by this. Roman Reigns, WWE's current world heavyweight champion.

The five competitors already in the ring exchange glances before turning back to watch Roman come through the crowd, a tension in the air. Ethan steps forward first, however, and stares down the former Shield member, determined to prove he's the better champion. Roman barely seems to care, laughing him off as he enters the ring and hands the title belt off to the referee, who quickly passes it out of the ring before signaling for the bell to start the match. It's hard to keep track of the six bodies, even when Ethan dislodges and watches from the sidelines as Kalisto and Trevor Lee fight, Lashley and Roman squaring off as well. Spud hesitates for a moment and Ethan thinks perhaps he's regained some of his common sense, his basic survival instinct, but then he lunges forward and punches Kalisto once Trevor has pulled away to take a breath, the two men exchanging punches until Kalisto hits Spud with a hard kick that winds him.

He grips his ribs and grits his teeth as Kalisto kicks him again and again, finally rearing back and punching him hard in the face, sending Kalisto back a few steps. This split second is all Spud needs as he lunges forward and catches him with a DDT, Kalisto clearly knocked loopy afterwards. Ethan's _almost_ proud of him, until Trevor Lee injects himself back into the situation and dropkicks Spud, leaving him prone against the ropes. Ethan rolls his eyes as his former best friend is eliminated first not long afterwards, Ethan watching quietly as he recollects himself outside and trudges back up the ramp.

Once Spud is out of sight, Ethan joins the fray in time to eliminate Lashley, who is wavering off of a Superman Punch. He smirks at Roman as Kalisto goes flying towards the Samoan, just to get caught by the larger man's shoulder and tossed easily over the top rope. This leaves Trevor Lee with the two champions and, as he tries to target Ethan with a dropkick, clearly trying to eliminate him the same way he had Spud, but Ethan charges forward and hits him with a crossbody, dragging him back up and over to the ropes to strike him with a solid forearm that sends him crashing to the floor. He feels some smug pride at this turn of events, slowly easing around to face Roman, who also looks glad for this being the outcome.

Champion vs champion, the buzz in the audience loud. If Ethan wins, he could go to WWE and defeat Roman for his title and be the first to hold _two_ of the biggest titles in the world... Narrowing his eyes, Ethan adjusts his arm brace and paces around, waiting for Roman to do something, make some kind of move. They remain at a sort of stalemate as Roman waits for the same from him. Finally Ethan lunges forward, careful to watch for a spear or a Superman punch, and lands a couple of punches before Roman pushes him off and strikes him hard in the face.

Staggered, Ethan steps back and sucks in a deep breath before rushing Roman again, hitting him with a forearm to the face. Roman takes a moment to breathe as well before grabbing him when he moves in once more, hitting a tilt-a-whirl slam on him that sucks Ethan's breath away. How he gets back to his feet before Roman could manage anything else, Ethan's not sure, but he's never been the type to look a gift horse in the mouth. This time he uses a dropkick to his own advantage and then knees Roman in the chest while he's cowered in the corner, followed by the EC3 Splash.

Roman is rattled, clearly, but Samoans recover quickly, so Ethan rushes forward to continue the offense... just to get trapped in a clothesline that sends him back into the corner. Now he finds himself on the receiving end of it as Roman repeatedly clotheslines him deeper into the turnbuckles, Ethan struggling just to catch his breath. Once he staggers out of the corner, he's met with a spear and, somehow regaining his feet a few moments after that, realizes that it's about to end. His pride, his undefeated streak, all of it, sends him dropping to the mat and rolling out of the ring. He waves off the victory, deciding he's happy with the belt he's got, and making his way up the ramp as the referee proceeds to count him out.

The fans clearly disapprove but since when has Ethan ever cared about that? He smirks as he walks backstage, TNA title held once more on his shoulder.

The show continues on, Abyss defeating ROH newcomer, Jonathan Greshman, and James Storm eventually eaking out a win against Kevin Owens after a brutal match that had the audience holding their breath quite a few times. Tigre Uno gets perhaps the upset of the night when his speed and agility confuses Michael Elgin and grants him the victory, followed by Alberto Del Rio defeating Caprice Coleman with the armbreaker in quick fashion.

A tag match follows, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods coming out together. Woods' trombone playing and Kofi's dancing quickly comes to a stop as Rusev's music begins to play, both of their eyes widening in horror. "Who's his tag partner?" Kofi's overheard asking loudly, Xavier shrugging uncertainly- until Millions of Dollars starts playing and Titus comes out.

The two members of New Day in the ring freeze for a moment before pointing and laughing at the random tag team, pausing to look at each other before resuming their laughter even more enthusiastically. "How are they going to get along?!" Xavier guffaws, slinging his trombone around thoughtlessly as he chortles. But they do for awhile, ignoring each other and just waylaying Kofi and Xavier until it falls apart- Titus gets annoyed when Rusev roughly tags back in, and this results in a shoving match between the two until Rusev kicks Titus in the face and leaves him laying long enough for Kofi to finish off.

The main event is another six person elimination match- this time for the female wrestlers- and the audience buzzes again as Awesome Kong makes her way to the ring. Madison and Velvet Sky come out to the ring together, staring up at Kong distrustingly as Becky Lynch's theme plays, followed by Gail Kim's. After Charlotte makes her way to the ring, the bell rings and the six women eye each other, Gail, Madison and Velvet grouping together in a corner to watch as Kong, Becky and Charlotte wait for someone to make the first move.

In the end it's Kong to do so, gripping Becky while she's unsuspecting and slinging her forward for a forearm to the chest which rocks her to the ground, gasping and scraping for oxygen. Turning her attention to Charlotte, Kong doesn't notice as the Beautiful People and Gail sneak forward, Becky struggling to her feet as well. Between the four of them, they rush Kong and tip her up and, with a minimal bit of help from Charlotte, send her over the ropes to the outside where she lands with a heavy thud, the first eliminated.

They all breathe a little easier but no matter how often they work together, and for what goal, the end game is still to succeed, Velvet squawking as Charlotte and Becky both react at the same time, pushing Madison over the ropes to follow Kong. They all retreat to their own corners after this, Velvet looking especially twitchy without her best friend. Yes, she had recently partnered up with Gail, but that means nothing in this highly competitive situation. Gail approaches Becky while Charlotte watches, disinterested, and the two women exchange kicks and slaps, Becky trying to lock in the Dis-arm-her but failing every time as Gail tried to position for her Eat Defeat move.

This stalemate ends when Gail hits her with a crossbody, sending her teetering back and prone for a clothesline that sends her over and out, a distressed look on her face as she realizes that it's over. Charlotte, waiting for her opportunity, finally leaves the corner and grabs Gail from behind, sending her over as well in a mirror of earlier with Madison. She smirks down at the woman, turning sharply as Velvet tries to return the favor, snagging the woman on the ropes and staring at her as she struggles to regain her balance, get to a less trecherous place.

She succeeds, to a point, before Charlotte boots her in the face and knocks her back close to where she was standing previously. She gasps and struggles to regain herself yet again when she feels herself speared out of the ring and lands heavily on the mat outside, looking up at Charlotte as she celebrates yet another win. Velvet pounds her fist against the floor before standing up and leaving in a huff, disgusted.

Charlotte laughs and celebrates by holding the divas' title up high, her chances of winning a title shot in another federation growing more and more likely with each week.


	7. Chapter 7

Team Work had been going for a month and a half solid by now. Sometimes Stephanie's not sure what she's gotten herself into, and sometimes she thinks it's the best thing she's ever done in her entire career. She sighs and taps her fingers against her arm, examining the list of matches scheduled for the night. Smiling slightly, she turns and leaves the hallway to head for her office to oversee how things go.

The first match of the night is Jey Uso vs Rhett Titus. Jey is fast, of course, flying all around the ring and Rhett too, but he holds his ground, waits for an opportunity and, when it comes, rolls through one of Jey's dives, still holding onto him tightly enough to swing them into a suplex slam, which grants him the three count. He smirks and stares out at the crowd as some cheer and others boo, Rhett just relieved to have a role in this race now. The thought of being able to challenge for any belt in any company, well... it's amazing to even consider. Unprecendented, really.

Following, Hanson defeats Curtis Axel, and Alberto Del Rio, still feeling the affects of the roller coaster his week's been, handles Kenny King quickly, his lingering anger and humilation making it a bit easier. Jimmy Uso doesn't continue his brother's bad luck, in fact he defeats Eric Young pretty easily as the referee is more watchful than usual, ensuring no shenanigans goes on. Rowe doesn't let _his_ tag team down by following in Hanson's footsteps and defeating Tigre Uno by targetting his bad arm most of the match.

The next match is Jeff Hardy vs Heath Slater and, although Heath initially gets some offense in, regaining confidence slowly and steadily thanks to the formation of the Social Outcasts, it's not enough to hold Jeff down. The enigma quickly fights through his lingering leg issues from his accident the year prior, and hits the twist of fate, followed by a whisper in the wind, to put Heath away. Jeff is still limping slightly on his leg but he stays in the ring, holding a hand out towards Heath and, as Heath stares up at him suspiciously before gripping it, Jeff pulls him up and they stare at each other. The audience buzzes until mutual respect shows, Jeff shaking Heath's hand and nodding at him before hobbling out of the ring and up the ramp, Heath watching him go before glancing around the crowd.

A triple threat match comes up next, with Tesuya Naito vs Bubba Dudley vs Kalisto. It is clear the luchador is still reeling from becoming US champion, just to lose it three days later, but he focuses as well as he can, trying to counteract Naito's speed and highflying risks with some of his own just to get caught by Naito's corkscrew moonsault. Either way, it doesn't matter in the end as Bubbla catches Naito while Kalisto is recovering and hits the Bubba bomb, ridding Naito of all of the oxygen in his body as well before pinning him.

A handicap match coming up next sees the WWE guys repaying the loss to NJPW as Titus O'Neil and Jack Swagger fail to work together long enough to keep Bad Luck Fale down, the large enforcer of the Bullet Club refusing to be kept down and ultimately pinning Swagger after his patented throwing crucifix powerbomb. The Wolves follow this up with two wins in a row as Eddie Edwards defeats Dean Ambrose and Davey Richards makes fast work of Adam Rose.

The next match is easily one of the most buzzed about as The Boys make their way out, holding their fans in front of Dalton as he makes his entrance, waving them eagerly to keep him cool as he approaches the ring. He stands patiently as the boys help him to shed the sparkling ensemble that he always wears before a match, then doing his peacock strut before his opponent's music hits and the boys leave the ring quickly, still fanning towards him compulsively. Dalton stands there, eyes sharp and stance unimpressed as Kurt Angle approaches the ring, this being yet another stop on his farewell tour before he takes a much deserved break from wrestling.

They eye each other for a minute, Angle's eyes finding the boys on the outside before Dalton steps forward protectively, clearly still on the defensive after losing the boys to Silas Young for so very long. But Angle meets him with an outstretched hand and Dalton frowns, staring at him. Finally, his respect for the Olympic hero wins out and he takes Angle's hand, shaking it with little to no of his usual theatrics. The match then begins in earnest, punches and grapples turning into a rough headbutt before Dalton hooks his arms around Angle's midsection and suplexes him, wanting to prove that his suplexing game is tighter than even Kurt frickin' Angle's. Except that Kurt gives as good as he gets, catching Dalton in a release suplex, then a belly to belly suplex, but it's when he tries to go for a bridging suplex into a pin, Dalton plants his feet and reverses.

The boys on the outside leap in happiness when Dalton deadlifts Angle into a suplex of his own, rattling the ring with the force of it and pinning Angle to the mat so abruptly that everyone is surprised, including Angle himself. The two men stare at each other from where they'd ended up after the match, Dalton breathing in deeply as Angle finds his feet, tilting his head as he takes in the man he'd just lost to. Ever the professional, however, Kurt reaches out and takes Dalton's hand in another warm, respectful shake. "Congratulations," he says simply before letting go and rolling out of the ring to let Dalton have a moment with his boys to celebrate.

Once the ring is clear, the NJPW competitors get a chance to prove themselves and do so quite well as Ibushi defeats D-Von Dudley and Yano eaks out a not-very-clean victory against Mark Henry, who looks pissed off but unable to do anything about it afterwards. Another triple threat occurs, during which Stardust walks away victorious against Bo Dallas and Neville, using their animosity towards each other against them.

The main event is a tag match, with Becky Lynch and Alicia Fox facing off against Awesome Kong and Jade. The two WWE divas examine each other with quiet disdain in their dark eyes, but finally they clap hands in a quiet resolve to fight as hard as possible to get through this match. Kong is tough, of course she is... she's large and strong and seems to enjoy batting both women around while Jade sits back and laughs at it all, but the tide slowly turns when Jade, certain in the other two losing easily at this point, and Alicia grabs Jade by the hair and slings her face first into the mat. Becky then enters the ring and they attack Kong _with_ Jade, who seems so rattled by the move that she fails to dodge the move, and before long they simply dropkick Jade into Kong, sending her off of the apron entirely. From there, it's not hard to defeat Jade as Alicia hits a scissors kick on her and Becky, who is legal on their team, traps her in the disarmer and pulls back, gritting her teeth and digging her feet into the mat for purchase, until Jade taps, screaming desperately.

As they stumble up the ramp, Alicia mocks Kong and Jade by making an L on her forehead with her fingers, laughing enthusiastically as Becky gets to her feet. They both freeze and stare at each other before Alicia shrugs and holds a hand out. Becky briskly shakes before rolling out of the ring, this temporary alliance done and over with, to return to normal by the next wrestling event. Which is just fine for both of them.


	8. Chapter 8

The Rumble is this weekend, and if she's so tired, Stephanie can only guess how the roster is feeling. Not to mention that weather had become a huge issue, canceling some shows for the other federations. She's never been so glad that they'd scheduled events in Florida as she is right this moment. Either way the show must go on, especially this one, so she oversees everything as it happens, smoothing over tensions between different people on the roster and the staff before turning her attention to the show itself.

Jey Uso defeats Matt Jackson after a chain of superkicks that makes everyone in the arena's jaw ache as they watch the two men go back and forth. R-Truth wrestles Mark Briscoe and takes him down with his STO.

The third match on the card is Christopher Daniels vs Dolph Ziggler. Despite his being suspended from ROH, it doesn't keep him from competing to wrestle in _another_ federation- a little loop hole he had seemed quite pleased with, even as Stephanie vowed to keep an even closer eye on him- so the match begins. A power struggle in the middle ends abruptly when Daniels sweeps Ziggler's legs out from under him, putting him down hard. Revelling in the boos and jeers from the crowd, he lifts Dolph up and tries to put him into position for the spin-out powerbomb, just to receive a boot to the skull.

Staggered, Daniels drops Dolph back to the mat and rubs at his forehead, teeth gritting as Dolph scrambles up and runs at him, hitting a fameasser that sends him nose-first against the mat. Daniels grunts and rolls over just in time to receive a few boots to the ribs. The referee pushes Dolph away, giving Daniels time to get up, recollect himself a bit. He meets Dolph halfway once he escapes the referee's badgering and they exchange a few punches before Dolph tries to superkick him... just to get caught and flipped over onto his back.

Taking the opportunity, Christopher runs to the ropes and springboards off of them to moonsault across Dolph, after which he twists Dolph around and locks in the Koji Clutch, pulling back on Dolph's head, applying as much pressure as he can until finally Ziggler stops struggling and taps. Rolling free, Daniels smirks as the booing intensifies, bowing to the crowd before rolling out of the ring and heading backstage.

His tag partner, however, doesn't have the same kind of luck as Kazarian loses to Michael Bennett in the next match, Maria clapping excitedly for her husband after the match ending Samoan driver. Bobby Roode beats Ibushi with the Roode bomb, and Natalya, Gail Kim and Becky Lynch have a submission-heavy match that ends when Gail gets trapped in the Disarmer while Natalya is recovering from an Eat Defeat on the outside, having no choice but to tap out when she realizes she can't get to the ropes and no help is coming.

Luck of the draw had given Heath Slater a rematch against Jeff Hardy and the two men stare at each other, determination now in Heath's eyes. He had had a rocky week, first losing to Big Show but then beating the Dudleys in a tag match with Curtis Axel, so. He plans on making it two wins this week, approaching Jeff and locking up with him. Jeff gets the upperhand of this by getting some separation and clotheslining Heath hard, down to the mat. He gasps for breath, only just realizing as Jeff splashes towards him from the top rope, Heath gritting his teeth and rolling away, missing the move by mere inches.

Jeff writhes against the mat and grips his knee, which is still giving him trouble. Heath gets to his feet and takes advantage, running forward and dropping his knee into Jeff's midsection, ridding more breath from his lungs. Heath forces Jeff to his feet and lifts him, spinning him hard against the mat with a DDT. Not willing to risk his victory so early, he takes to the top rope and dives, hitting him with a corkscrew splash before grabbing his leg and pinning him, digging his heels into the mat for just that little bit of extra leverage. It works, amazingly so, the referee counting to the three before Jeff can become aware of what's going on, scrape together the energy to move.

Heath sits up, a wide grin spreading along his face as he realizes he'd succeeded. "Yeah! Woo!" he exclaims, rolling out of the ring and air guitaring up the ramp before running backstage to meet up with the other members of Social Outcasts while Jeff watches balefully.

Matt Hardy, continuing his winning ways since becoming TNA champion in controversial fashion, defeats Sheamus, and Neville succeeds against James Storm with his 450 splash.

The next match sees Luke Harper vs Matt Jackson vs Curtis Axel, the Social Outcasts member unable to hold onto Heath's momentum for earlier, taken out by a superkick and forearm lariat within the first few minutes of the match- not that Matt does much better, defeated by Harper's sidewalk slam after a failed attempt at another superkick.

The crowd goes quiet as Roman Reigns vs Hirooki Goto begins and Goto quickly gets the upperhand. Roman, clearly distracted with the Rumble only hours away by now, finds himself lost under Goto's experience and hardhitting moves, his superman punch and spear proving ineffective against the man as he snags Roman and holds him in position for a Vertical Suplex, looking moderately confused as the crowd counts for the few seconds that he holds Roman like this. Growing bored of waiting, Goto drops him into a sit-out sideslam and pins him. The silence grows once more, a smattering of cheers and awed whispers coming from those for this man who had just defeated the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Stephanie comes out once the ring is cleared, a smug smirk on her face that causes the whispers to turn into boos. She ignores them, however, moving on to announce the next match. "As a prelude to the Royal Rumble, our main event is going to be an eight man over the top rope battle royal!" The crowd responds slightly more positively to this and Stephanie smirks, returning backstage so the entrances could be made.

Within minutes, Erick Rowan, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Bray Wyatt, Jimmy Uso, Titus O'Neil, Big Show and Alberto Del Rio are in the ring, eyeing each other and waiting for someone to make the first move. This falls to Rowan, unsurprisingly, as he goes after Jimmy Uso and breaks the spell the others are in. Titus and Swagger brawl as Henry and Big Show fight, Show fighting inch by inch to get the man to the ropes for a quick elimination. Alberto goes after Bray, who laughs in his face, stopping him short. Del Rio's lips twist uncomfortably as he examines the strange man, trying to aside, but Bray attacks. Kicks him, winds him, then punches him hard in the face. While Alberto tries to recover both from the physical attack and mental uncertainty, Bray positions him for Sister Abigail before planting him against the mat. Rowan, leaving Jimmy slumped against the top rope at Bray's call, comes over and between the two of them, they discard Del Rio over the top rope as if he weighs nothing.

Dusting his hands off, Bray turns back to survey the ring before him. Titus goes next, Swagger slinging him over with a bone-rattling lariat. Big Show finally gets the upperhand over Mark Henry a few minutes later, sending him over with a smug grin. This doesn't last long, however, as Swagger clotheslines Show, Uso dropkicks him in the back, and Rowan sends him over while he's still unbalanced, only just missing Henry on the floor. Swagger makes the mistake of targetting Rowan next and pays for it, as he goes flying out of the ring a few moments later.

Bray sits back and watches from the corner as Jimmy grimly turns towards Rowan, a kind of dread on his face. Rowan lumbers after him, but stops short when Jimmy snaps him with a kick to the head, leaving him wavering. Bray smirks, undeterred, as Rowan tries to course correct and go after Jimmy, just for him to pull the top rope down and trip Rowan over it, leaving him and Bray alone in the ring. The Eater of Worlds chuckles softly as he pulls away from the corner and approaches the man, eyeing him casually. "Well, well," he says. "Come, little lamb..."

Jimmy lunges at him, trying to punch at him, get the first bit of offense in... just to get crossbodied down to the mat. Bray laughs and pulls him up by the hair, ignoring the referee's rebuke before setting him up for another Sister Abigail. But, instead of slamming him against the mat, he twists back around after kissing Jimmy on the head, pushing him up and over the top rope, his laughter growing louder and more maniacal as he's declared the winner. Dropping to his knees, he stares out at the crowd. "This is just the beginning..." Stretching his arms out on either side of himself, he sneers. "Follow... the... buzzards!"


	9. Chapter 9

Following the rumble, Stephanie is feeling proud and accomplished as she looks over the crowd. "As Lucha Underground has resumed having shows this week, we have offered and Catrina has agreed- so you will be seeing their competitors here as well!" The crowd responds positively as she leaves ringside to watch from her office, trying not to show just how unsettled she still is from dealing with the woman now in control of the Temple. _Dario Cuetro was a creep, but that I can deal with... she seems just evil,_ Stephanie thinks as she taps her fingers against her arm.

In the first match, Kalisto defeats Kazushi Sakuraba after some intense back and forth that leaves the crowd on the edge of their seats. Eddie Edwards faces off with AJ Styles for the first time since AJ had left ROH for WWE, the two of them spending some time feeling each other out before getting into the more intense, quick moving styles they're known for. The crowd's buzzing grows, however, when Eddie defeats AJ with a sitout scoop slam piledriver.

After discussing with her husband the influx of new talent with the inclusion of Lucha Underground people, Stephanie had decided on having another 15 man battle royal since there are so many people volleying for roles on the show. She smirks upon putting HHH in it, curious to see if anyone could topple him outside of the WWE brand. The crowd whispers and randomly boos or cheers as the fifteen men enter the ring, HHH looking disinterested and bored as he takes in the group of people in front of him, adjusting his wrist tape. The others group together depending on the shows they're on and personal relationships, watching warily.

Jimmy Uso, Dean Ambrose, Titus O'Neil, Bubba Dudley all strategize while Stardust, Big E and Kofi Kingston group together, keeping an eye on everyone. James Storm, Davey Richards, Tigre Uno all seem as disinterested to go after HHH as well, Cedric Alexander, Toru Yano, Mil Muertes and Kenny Omega all scattered around the ring. "Come on!" Dean finally snaps, bored of hanging around, watching. The four of them approach HHH but he quickly punches them out, wading into the group of wrestlers and waylaying everyone who dares to get in his path. However, Kofi is the first to get eliminated when Stardust sacrifices him by pushing him in front of him, quickly slithering away in time for HHH to clothesline Kofi over the top rope and out of the ring.

Big E is in the process of chasing Stardust around to get his revenge when the second elimination happens- Stardust ducks aside as Big E runs right into the turnbuckle post, unsettling Tigre Uno who had climbed onto the top rope for some highrisk offense against Cedric Alexander, just to flap his arms worthlessly and go over the side hard. Taking advantage of this reprieve, Cedric goes after Toru Yano and eliminates him while he's distracted with Titus O'Neil. Cedric laughs obnoxiously before turning to look for another easy target just to watch as Jimmy Uso gets eliminated by a smug looking HHH, clearly out to get rid of one of Roman Reigns' family members.

HHH's glee doesn't last for long, however, as James Storm rushes forward and superkicks him from behind over the top rope. He stands at the turnbuckle and laughs down at the WWE champion. "Sorry about your damn luck!"

Mil Muertes is still prowling around, getting involved when he feels is necessary, when his time runs out. Kenny Omega and Dean Ambrose target him and, together, send him flying over the top rope with forearm shivers that leave them both leaning over the top, staring down at him as he sneers up at them, his gaze promising dangerous things in the future. Catching each others' eyes, the two more-than-slightly unbalanced wrestlers exchange nods of respect before turning back around to get into the deep end of the match once more.

Titus and Stardust, locked in a brutal exchange of punches and kicks, are knocked off-balance and sent over the top rope together by Bubba Ray Dudley and Davey Richards, who exchange suspicious glances before separating once more. Not that it matters as Bubba is knocked out of the ring next by Cedric who catches him with a bonejarring boot to the jaw, sending him roughly to the floor. Big E goes next as Davey Richards flapjacks him over the top and he fails at getting a grip on the top rope, hitting the floor hard.

Five men left now, Ambrose, Storm, Cedric, Omega and Richards eyes each other from different areas of the ring, a sneer crossing Omega's face as he lunges after Dean, Cedric working with him to knock the Lunatic Fringe over the rope. Dean hangs on, however, biting and clawing to get back into the ring, but it doesn't matter when James hits him with a superkick simliar to what he did to HHH earlier, dazing him and causing his grip to fail as he arches off of the apron and is eliminated.

Davey Richards is gone next, the three men targetting him and getting him over the top rope. Cedric acts like it's some huge team-building exercise, trying to high five with James and Kenny, just for his face to fall when he realizes. He tries to fight back but there's nothing for it, James' boot and Kenny's palm thrust quickly knocking him out of contention. Immediately turning on each other, Omega and Storm starts brawling in the middle of the ring, exchanging punches and kicks, James trying and failing to hit a superkick as Omega stops himself just in the nick of time to miss the move that had eliminated so many guys tonight. Likewise, James skids to a stop, avoiding the palm thrust, and bridging it through to the Eye of the Storm, lifting Omega up onto his shoulders and stomping closer to the ropes, spinning him around straight over and down, successfully winning the match.

He laughs as Omega glowers at him on his way up the ramp, holding his neck. James had come a long way since leaving that albatross known as the Revolution behind. Time in WWE's NXT brand had helped him to get his head back on straight, yes, but now he's home... and he won't ever allow his eye to leave his goal again.

After watching Lucha Underground, Stephanie had been curious to see what Ivelisse could bring to the table on a higher scale, so she'd put her in a guantlet match. Her first opponent is the much bigger, imposing Awesome Kong, and although Ivelisse looks uncomfortable in the face of the woman, she doesn't lose her nerve once. The fight stays with her as she defeats Kong, then Charlotte and Paige. Her energy's starting to wan when Natalya comes to the ring but she still comes close to beating the woman a few times... until Natalya locks in the sharpshooter, putting as much pressure on her legs as she can, Ivelisse crying out as her leg protests the pressure, still susceptible to injury after being broke the year prior. This more than anything makes her tap, tears of frustration filling her dark eyes, but she's able to limp out of the arena on her own power, which is a good thing. She never wants to endure that again, or be the weak link in her trios team.

Bray Wyatt defeats Drew Galloway, and then Stephanie pulls out another guantlet match, determined to test the Lucha Underground people. King Cuerno this time, but he sweeps his opponents, defeating Jey Uso and Baretta easily back to back. Roman Reigns gives him a little more trouble but he counters the spear into a bridging German suplex, pinning him after a struggle.

Brian Fury defeats Eli Drake and Jay Briscoe gets the upperhand in the revitalization of his feud with Kevin Owens, D-Von Dudley taking out Rocky Romero and Chris Jericho getting Jonathon Gresham to submit to the Walls of Jericho.

For the main event, Dolph Ziggler comes out and peers around the crowd before getting into the ring in time to watch his opponent, Grado's, entrance. The man stares up the ramp at Dolph before mimicking his entrance, a number of the audience closest to the entrance looking horrified as he shimmies and shakes. Finally he approaches the ring and Dolph rolls his eyes, unimpressed by Grado's attitude.

The match itself falls apart early- all of Grado's moves are parodies of other wrestlers' moves and Dolph finds himself off-kilter enough that he can't keep ahead of Grado's ridiculousness. An elbow to the sternum leaves him choking and struggling to catch his breath, Grado only making the situation worse by hitting him with a leg drop. The next offense from Grado, a chop drop to Dolph's throat, leaves him unable to move or respond, struggling just to breathe. How he gets to his feet, Dolph isn't sure but he staggers around before getting snagged and crashing down to the mat against Grado's shoulder in a rough Cutter. It's over, Dolph staring up blankly as he's pinned and it's over.

Grado's rough, grating laughter is all he can hear as he rolls out of the ring, in disbelief that he'd been defeated by this joke of a competitor. He grits his teeth and struggles to sit up, each breath still murder to his throat and upper sternum. At this point, he has no win at all in this thing and it's not sitting well with him. He works up to his knees and looks around at the crowd, re-vowing to succeed, to do better. To be the one walking out at the end of this thing with the chance at any title of his choice. To not fail at yet another thing. "Me," he mutters, eyes flashing with desperation and determination. "No one else..."


	10. Chapter 10

Another week of wrestling events, another week closer to the payoff for this round in the show. Stephanie sighs softly as she stares down at the list of competitors and their standing towards winning the big prize at the end of it all. She hums and looks up at the monitor, nodding. "It's time to begin."

The first match is another gauntlet match, something Stephanie had decided on to start the night off on a high note since they're doing a few different match types later on since they finally find themselves in an arena that can accomodate something she'd been eager to try since beginning this experiment.

ROH's Kyle O'Reilly starts off against Kofi Kingston, the two men struggling for the upperhand, to beat each other down to an early pin... but it doesn't work, Kofi's Trouble in Paradise getting reversed into a guillotine choke that Kofi can't free himself from and eventually passes out in. Kyle's smooth submissions hold him strong as Matt Hardy comes out, cocky and smug after winning the TNA title, his youth assisting him, Matt unable to hold on when Kyle transitions easily from an ankle lock to a cross armbreaker, Hardy reluctantly tapping out and rolling away, yelling senselessly at Kyle before escaping.

Roderick Strong is Kyle's next opponent and the two men stare at each other before shaking hands and moving into the dance that they're both pretty used to by now. They know each other well enough, their moves, their reversals, their agendas. It's hard to get the upperhand in a situation like that but, after a pendulum lariat that obviously rattles Roddy, Kyle takes over and dropkicks him before pulling him up from the mat and planting him into the mat with the brainbuster, cementing the victory for himself.

He's tired, sweating and all around ready to sit down and celebrate this victory when another theme music hits, his face scrunching up in disbelief as one of the entrants into ROH's Top Prospects- Punisher Martinez- comes out. He has no chance, having lost before his opponent even hits the ring. Kyle's fighting from behind so severely that he's not even sure what the finish is, what move spells his doom physically as much as mentally, just remembers coming to after the three count, staring up at the ceiling and absorbing the sign of respect from the audience, feeling wholly undeserving of it as he makes his way backstage.

Xavier Woods takes on, and defeats, Trevor Lee next, the crowd still buzzing after the gauntlet match. Michael Bennett's miracle fails him as he loses to Kalisto, unable to keep the upperhand against the man's highflying speed.

Johnny Mundo faces off against Jimmy Uso next. The two men move very fluidly, exchanging kicks and punches, mixing in highflying moves and more groundbased attacks until Johnny goes for The End of the World and misses, Jimmy rolling away and letting Johnny's form slam into the mat before he goes for a splash from the top rope, forcing more of the breath out of Johnny's lungs. He can do nothing to stop it as Jimmy floats over and pins him, his eyes darkening with disgust as he sits up a loser and takes in the crowd's jeering. Waving them off viciously, he storms backstage, eager to leave this building.

The next match is what Stephanie's been eager to watch, see how the non-WWE wrestlers take to it. An Elimination Chamber. She smirks as it is set up, reinforced, examined by those aware of how to piece it together. It takes time but it's worth it, she hopes, as the competitors make it to the ring and into their pods, two of the men staying out to start the match. Every few minutes, a pod would open to allow someone new into the fray.

Titus O'Neil and Stardust eye each other, dislike evident on both of their faces until the bell rings. They lock up, exchanging stiff punches and arm drags, scattered other moves, Stardust snarling and fighting whenever Titus gets a bit of an advantage against him. He's just dropkicked Titus away from him when the pods light up, revealing the newest entrant into the match. Big E races in and starts battling them down until Stardust gets ahold of him and Titus surprises both of them by rattling them down to the mat, Stardust gasping and struggling to get to his feet. Big E beats him and, by the time he's on his feet, the two men are struggling to get the upperhand on each other.

Stardust goes to the top of the nearest turnbuckle and dropkicks both of them down, trying to pin Titus. He kicks out and Stardust goes after Big E, suffering the same result from him. He's struggling to piece something together when the next chamber opens and Lashley joins in, quickly taking all three men down and suplexing the first up- Big E. The crowd buzzes and boos when he tries to pin Big E but fails. Turning attention to Stardust, Lashley lifts him up and has just moved to drop him as well when he gets dropkicked by Titus, Stardust landing awkwardly on his side. Time passes as the group of them try to get any sort of traction going against the other, and then Crazzy Steve joins the match. He bites, he's crazy and feral, and none of them know what to do with him. The few minutes they get before Bobby Fish enters goes by quickly and before they expect it, ROH's former tag team champion joins them and tries to defeat Crazzy Steve just to get caught by Lashley's suplex and pinned quickly.

Crazzy Steve, however, doesn't last much longer as he bites and claws at Titus and nearly gets clotheslined out of his boots for his troubles. Titus' pin is clear, more simple than Steve had deserved. Titus and Big E then turn their attention to the non-WWE guy, Lashley, and sends him flying over the ropes onto the hard steel grating outside, Stardust staggering after them. Between the three of them, they leave barely able to sit up or move, and so it's just expected when they work together to pin him. Alliances never last long, however, and before long Titus forearm shivers Big E, leaves him sputtering like a fish out of water before Titus pins him. Titus is doing his weird barking thing at Big E as Stardust sneaks up behind him, rolls him up and pins him to win the entire thing. He celebrates by hissing at the crowd and then leaves while ignoring the response to this with a sneer.

Next up is Okada vs Pentagon Jr. vs Eric Young, the three men eyeing each other suspiciously as they wait for the bell to ring, Okada's dollar bills still raining from the ceiling. The crowd is clearly uncomfortable for NJPW's champion due to his being stuck in a match with the deranged Young and the plain evil Pentagon Jr. But Okada is smart so he evades what he can and lets EY and Pentagon fight, the two men exchanging blows and knees until Eric attempts a backbreaker just for Pentagon to reverse it into a Fujiwara armbar. Eric struggles to get free, but before he can, Okada re-introduces himself to the match and knees Pentagon in the head, causing the man to release the hold.

As Pentagon Jr. approaches him, Okada's ego falters and he swallows, eyes flickering before trying a dropkick, barely able to get enough space to achieve the move- not that it matters anyway, Pentagon grabbing him out of mid-air and powerbombing him onto his knee. Okada hisses, cursing in Japanese, before rolling away to try to recover, return to this match properly. Pentagon Jr. is intercepted by Young, who catches him and hits a belly to bell suplex, trying to pin him... just for his arm to get caught and twisted back into the armbar again. Eric struggles and yells, but there's nothing for it- he taps when Pentagon Jr. refuses to allow him to make it over to the ropes with sheer force of will.

The crowd falls silent when Pentagon Jr. doesn't let the move go after the bell rings, snapping Eric's arm back and effectively breaking it. He yells and writhes, Okada watching from the corner, eyes wide in horror at how close he'd come to that being _him_. Scurring out of the ring, the IWJP champion is met at the ramp by his manager, Gedo, who also looks freaked out. Pentagon Jr stands over EY and merely laughs, a cold, dark cackle that sends shivers through anyone who hears it.

The audience is still, clearly, broken after that match, barely reacting as Ryback defeats Bram and Naomi wins a battle royal against Brie, Charlotte and Tamina. They come back to life, some, when Roman Reigns comes out, more whispers and confused chatter following when Matt Taven makes his way to the ring, walking awkwardly due to his knee injury. He eyes the man, hopping into the ring, and Roman shakes his head in disbelief, talking with the ref. "Hey, pretty boy," Taven yells at him. "Don't talk to the referee, focus on me." He throws his crutch out of the ring and stands tall, despite being careful with how much weight he puts on his knee and stares Roman down.

Roman shakes his head. "Who authorized this crap?" he demands of the referee, but Taven had wrestled with his knee hurt before and he's not about to lose this opportunity, no matter what, so it's not much of a surprise when he lunges forward and punches Roman, pissing the Samoan off and ridding him of most of the reluctance he might've had going against Taven. Still, he hesitates, allowing Taven to get a few more good shots in before swatting him away like he's a fly with a Superman Punch that downs Taven.

Rolling out of the ring, Matt breathes in and out a few times before grabbing his crutch and wandering ringside slowly, ignoring the jeers of the fans and the referee's rebukes. Roman grows impatient and goes out after him, the referee's admonishes growing in volume until Bennett runs out in aid of his former tag partner, still gritting his teeth over his loss to Kalisto and refusing to allow Taven to suffer the same kind of humiliation. He successfully distracts the referee and allows Matt to get in a few stiff shots with his crutch that winds Roman, Taven then diving back into the ring and arguing with the referee, allowing Bennett to run around and hitting a piledriver on the floor to the dazed man.

Taven then pushes the referee towards the ropes, yelling at him to count, _count, dammit!_ , just giving Bennett enough time to get away. The referee grouses, but counts anyway, Roman starting to stir at the count of seven... but, no matter how much people cheer, trying to encourage him on, he can't get his feet under him and Taven wins via countout, Roman just missing beating the count inside. A groan fills the arena, but Taven looks like he's just won a world title on his birthday, laughing ecstatically as Bennett holds his crutch so he can get out of the ring without mishap. As they leave, they hold their fingers in the sign for The Kingdom, absolutely smug over taking it to the former WWE champion so easily.

The next match results in Mark Henry defeating Abyss, and Dolph Ziggler somehow holds his own in a two-on-one match against Jack Swagger and Darren Young, getting his first win of the show. Jey Uso follows this by succeeding in a four man match against AJ Styles, Big Show, and The Mack to the fans' pleasant surprise.

It's finally time for the main event as Prince Puma enters the ring, followed by Dean Ambrose, who has the crowd getting out of their seats in response for the match that's to come. The two men eye each other before they approach, Dean laughing at him. Puma takes advantage of this and slaps him hard across the face, Dean gasping before lunging forward and punching Puma in response, the former heavyweight champion's head whipping to the side before he turns to face Dean once more, his eyes just visible through his mask as he glowers at his opponent. Another exchange of punches and kicks, and Puma loses his patience, elbowing him hard in the throat, then kneeing him just as roughly in the ribs and sending him to his knees, gasping for air.

Dean is struggling to stand once more, finally grabbing Puma by the legs and sending him down as well, punching him hard before diving onto him and slamming him with forearms and fists, winding Puma sufficiently enough that they're both barely able to sit up, much less continue the match. If not for the referee counting above them, both men would probably still be struggling to regain their senses on the mat. Dean gets to his feet first and, once Puma's up, meets him with a rough lariat that sends him back to one knee. Dean's eyes gleam and he tries to hit the Dirty Deeds from this awkward position, gasping like a fish out of water as Puma reverses it and kicks him in the back of the head, repeating the action until Dean releases him.

Puma then goes up to the top rope in an attempt to hit his 630 Senton, but Dean recovers enough to hit him with a missile dropkick, then hitting him with a rough elbow to his chest, following it up with even more punches. Dean grows bored of this after a few moments, moving away and kicking Puma between the shoulders, watching as he arches away painfully. Dean's laughing when he feels his balance fail, his face impacting with the mat thanks to Puma's droptoe hold. Simple move, but effective. Especially after everything else in this match. He rolls onto his back just to find Puma mid-spin before he lands heavily across Dean's midsection, ridding him of whatever oxgen he has left. Admittedly, Puma is a little worse for wear after this match too but he finds it in himself to roll over and pin Dean's shoulders to the mat, grabbing his nearest leg and holding it up.

Dean cannot find it in himself to move, his vision spinning as his throat and sternum throbs. He registers when the three count is achieved, but still can't move. It's not until Puma's weight is off of him and he can focus on the crowd's chatter that he remembers. Blinks his eyes open and looks around, finding Puma standing in front of him, arm outstretched. Dean grunts and struggles to get up on his own, failing... and finally giving up, taking his opponent's peace offering and pulling himself up. Puma nods and releases his hand just to hold his own gloved hand out. Dean frowns for a moment before realizing it's to shake hands. _Why not..._ Gripping Puma's fingers tightly, he gives the man's hand a rough, brisk shake before releasing it and walking off, his shoulders held high despite the loss.


	11. Chapter 11

After an emotionally taxing week, Stephanie finds herself at yet another arena for Team Work. She taps her finger against her upper arm, lost in thought about the booked matches. Squaring her shoulders, she smooths her hair out before turning to make sure the show starts off well.

Everyone needing a lowkey showing this week, a number of multi-men matches had been booked, starting with a fifteen man battle royal. As the ring fills up, the Usos eye the Dudleys with no lack of hatred in their eyes. Jack Evans, Rusev, Neville, Bray Wyatt, Adam Rose, Lashley, Mark Henry, Sin Cara, and AJ Styles wander around the ring, waiting and watching for their first opportunity at action while the Dudleys, the Usos and the Ascension exchange blows until Bubba and Jey realize who's involved and quickly dispatche of the Ascension, allowing the two teams with the most issues to continue fighting, the anger from that eight man match the week prior still fresh.

Finally others in the match decide to move and Viktor and Konnor get involved too, picking their spots where they can. Konnor goes after Jack Evans while Viktor targets Neville, to slightly better results than his tag partner. Through all of the brawling going on around them, Jack Evans gets an opportunity and whips Konnor into the corner before hitting him with a cartwheel back elbow, dazing him well enough that Jack's able to lift him up and sling him over, effectively eliminating him. Across the ring, Lashley and Rusev are exchanging bonerattling punches, forearm shivers and clotheslines that barely rocks the other man until Adam Rose is knocked against the top rope, holding the ropes down with his body. When Lashley notices, he moves quickly and one rough shoulder tackle later and it's all over, Rusev landing heavily on the outside.

Unfortunately for Lashley, Mark Henry is watchful and quick, clotheslining Lashley over too, then tossing Adam Rose over for good measure. Sin Cara is next to get picked off after a risky 630 senton from Jack Evans leaves him staggering and vulnerable to elimination due to a brisk dropkick by AJ Styles. The Dudleys and the Usos are still brawling all around the ring, the others careful to avoid getting caught up in this drama, when Jey Uso sends Devon flying over his shoulder in an attempt to get away from his onslaught, sending him over the top rope and straight to the floor, eliminating him.

Mark is next to go as Bray sets his sights on him, finally making his first move of the night and lunging after the larger man, bewildering him with punches and elbows, finally taking him down to one knee, which makes it easier for him to hit Sister Abigail. Getting Mark Henry up is no small feat, however, so Bray contorts his body into the lead-in for his spider walk and watches upside down as Mark slowly comes to, getting to his feet. Bray walks on his hands towards him before rolling into a up-right position as well, lunging forward and hitting him with a short-armed clothesline, sending him over. When Mark staggers but remains on the apron, Bray strikes him in the throat with an open palm, knocking him off finally as he struggles to breathe.

Jack Evans and Neville are fighting in the corner, Evans finally lifting Neville up onto the top rope and moving to flip him off in some ridiculous high risk spot, just for Neville to grab him and slam him back down to the mat below. Evans recovers quickly, however, and lunges up, snapping Neville in the side of the head with his heel, sending him off of the turnbuckle and to the floor below, just barely missing the stairs. Boos and worried whispers from the crowd surround them as the match continues,

Bubba then evens the playing field, fighting free from both Usos enough to elbow Jey, punching Jimmy away when he tries to come to his brother's assistance once more. Bubba growls, growing tired of this, and grabs Jey, slamming his face into the turnbuckle repeatedly, the crowd falling silent until Bubba slings Jey mercilessly over the top rope, dusting his hands off dismissively before turning to deal with Jimmy.

AJ is fighting with Jack Evans, trying to eliminate him, when he feels himself grabbed by the back of the head, spun around and met with an elbow straight to the nose, his eyes watering in immediate response. There's no time to think or fight back before a heavy weight crashes into his midsection, sending him against the ropes. He's not sure afterwards who got him, Bray or Jack Evans, but either way, he's eliminated and his opportunity is done. Jack Evans follows quickly afterwards, however, and they both stare up in some shock as Bray Wyatt laughs down at them, looking like some sort of demented Santa Claus.

Before they can move, Bubba sends Jimmy flying out not far from where they're slumped, still digesting all of this. Bubba and Bray square off then, Bray continuing to laugh until Bubba slaps him hard across the face, his eyes suddenly blazing as he gets up in the tag team specialist's face. They glare at each other until Bray shoulderchecks Bubba, sending him back a few feet. Rebounding off of the ropes, Bubble clotheslines Bray and they begin exchanging brutal punches and slaps, elbows and every other kind of offense they could manage at this short distance. A clothesline hit by both at the same time downs them both and they lay there, dazed and breathless after the lengthy match.

Neither notice the last remaining guy, Viktor, until they're both back on their feet once more brawling close to the ropes, trying to eliminate the other desperately. Neither have time to move, finding themselves both eliminated by the cackling Ascension member overhead. As the audience buzzes and Bubba curses, storming backstage, Bray stands at ringside and eyes Viktor curiously, as if staring at a puzzle that he hasn't yet deciphered. Chuckling faintly to himself, Bray turns and leaves the man to his celebration.

The next match is Drew Galloway vs Zack Ryder, the two men circling each other anxiously. Neither had seen each other since Drew's release from WWE, and this is a bit awkward. Eventually they lock up, struggling for the upperhand, and Drew succeeds, punching Zack in the face a few times before slinging him into the ropes, lifting him up and booting him in the face. The pin attempt that follows is an offense and Zack angrily kicks out of it, scrambling to his feet and diving into Drew, punching him around the shoulders and neck before hitting a facebuster on him, then dragging him over to the corner to hit a diving elbow. Drew struggles and gasps as Zack follows it up with the broski boot, standing back to let the man have time enough to stand.

Except that Drew still has some fight in him and, when Zack tries to hit the Rough Ryder on him, Drew wriggles out and reverses Zack into a neckbreaker against his knee. Zack cries out and thrashes around, grabbing the back of his head before Drew lifts him and hits the Future Shock on him, leaving him motionless long enough for the three count. Drew gets to his feet once the bell has rung and he's announced the winner, stumbling back against the ropes and catching his breath while Zack slowly comes to and gets to his feet. They stare at each othe for a few moments before Drew pulls away from the ropes and approaches him stiffly. "Ya did good, man. Thought ya had me for a minute there." He holds his hand out and, despite the bland smirk on Zack's face, waits until Zack meets him halfway, shaking his hand.

Releasing his fingers, Zack steps back. "Thanks, bro," is all he says before rolling out of the ring to go backstage to lick his wounds, shake off the sting of this loss. Again.

A triple threat match is next and the crowd whispers and buzzes as Dalton Castle makes his way to the ring, once more flocked by his Boys. As they assist him into the ring, help him to strip down to his ring gear, and fan him while they wait for his opponents, Dalton smirks, his confidence regained, perfectly happy once more. Silas Young is still a thorn in their sides, yes, but they're together, and that's the important thing right now. The crowd chants LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA! when Kalisto's music hits, the highflyer flipping into the ring to the Boys' awe and envy, Dalton stroking their faces leisurely to reassure them. Chris Jericho is the last participant in the match, staring at Dalton and his two boys with a curious look on his face, adjusting his wrist tape, before the Boys leave the ring and the match begins.

It's hard to keep track of the three participants, Kalisto's highflying, Jericho's varied moveset and Dalton's freaky strength making it something to behold. They start slowly, circling each other before Jericho grabs Dalton and tries to chop him, just to get kicked in the head by Kalisto. Dazed, he rolls aside and lets the younger two men go at it, shaking the stars away from his vision before rejoining the fray just as Dalton suplexes Kalisto and tries to bridge him into a pin. Jericho's boots in his ribs stops that and Dalton rolls off, gasping and grabbing at the bottom rope, trying to pull himself up as the Boys run up and fan him off. This somehow seems to revive him and he rejoins the fray after Kalisto hits a sunset flip powerbomb, sending Jericho across the ring.

Dalton sneaks in and hits another suplex, trying for yet another pin when Jericho recovers enough to hit the lionsault off of the ropes, landing heavily against Dalton's ribs, making it even harder for him to breathe. He scrambles off but this time doesn't approach the ropes, instead grabbing Jericho and trying to suplex _him_ , desperate to finish this before he takes more damage to his ribs. Which would've been fine but before he could follow along, Jericho gets free and hits the Codebreaker, Dalton laying on the mat motionless, only just able to see a blue and green blur out of the corner of his eye as his boys jump up and down, trying to reinvigorate him.

This more than anything works as he remembers about how he failed them a few months ago, vowing never to do so again. Struggling to his feet, he breathes raggedly, watching as Jericho holds Kalisto in the walls of Jericho, Kalisto clearly close to tapping... when Dalton lunges forward, grabbing Jericho from behind and throwing him back, digging the toes of his boot into the rough canvas as he finally succeeds at the bridge, pinning him to the mat until the referee counts the three, Dalton immediately rolling out to collapse at his boys' feet. The twins grab him under the arms, waving their fans at him, and laugh happily as they pull him to his feet. He breathes deeply and drapes his arms over both of their shoulders, smirking up at Jericho as he glares at them, a deep loathing in his gaze.'

The next match is a triangle tag match, none of the divas looking thrilled with their partners for the evening. Tamina is partnered up with Lucha Underground's Kobra Moon, while Natalya tries to talk strategy with TNA's Jade, who couldn't look more disinterested if she'd tried, which leaves Sasha to partner with Charlotte. Although Sasha's determined to become Divas champion as soon as possible, Jade is clearly only in this match because she wants to, and Tamina can't seem to click with Kobra Moon, so Charlotte and Sasha run roughshod over them, Sasha sneaking in a tag on Charlotte and locking in the bank statement on her former sister, Tamina's hand hitting the mat desperately as pain from the submission hold ratchets up along with the pressure.

Sasha laughs as she rolls away and sneers down at the grimacing woman. Looking up, she catches Charlotte's eye, the threat clear. _Soon, that'll be you._ Charlotte rolls her eyes before leaving the ring, Sasha's hungry gaze locked on her divas title. _Very soon..._

After Fenix defeats Dolph Ziggler, the main event begins. A six man elimination match with Heath Slater, Darren Young, Alex Shelley, Action Ortiz, Trevor Lee and Alberto Del Rio filling the ring. Although the others lunge forward like this match is crucial to their careers' futures, Alberto sits back and watches them with a disgusted look on his face, clearly thinking himself above such nonsense. Alex Shelley brawls with Trevor Lee, the current TNA X-Division champion overwhelming him to such an extent that he actually eliminates Shelley after hitting a small package driver on him, giving him no room to fight free or even to breathe.

Action Ortiz is eliminated next, Heath using his slightly rusty boxing skills to dodge his powerful strikes and eventually take him down with a scoopslam, then a flapjack when he gets back up once more. Staggering to his feet once more, Heath grabs him and hits the Smash Hit, holding his breath as he dives for the pin, amazed that he actually has succeeded in getting rid of the man. This apparently gives him a boost of confidence that was sorely needed because, when Alberto rushes forward, finally deciding to join in the match now that a couple of people are gone, and Heath course corrects and rebounds off of the top rope, meeting him with a slingshot corkscrew splash that downs him, leaving him just dazed enough to be vulnerable to a pin.

Heath laughs, wiping at his face and brushing his hair back in disbelief. He's winning! He'd even eliminated people! He's so distracted watching Alberto leave that he doesn't realize that Darren Young's eliminated Trevor Lee and is now coming up behind Heath, snagging him and pinning him to the mat, winning the match once the referee counts the three. Heath sits up and gapes on as Darren celebrates. "Son of a bitch, man!" he yells out, slamming his fists against the mat. "I _had_ that!" Darren's laughter and the mocking the crowd makes him more angry, more resolute. _This ain't the end for me,_ he decides grimly. _I'll get back on track... I will..._


	12. Chapter 12

Stephanie is not in the mood for any nonsense. So she's very straight forward and brusque when she lays out the matches for the evening, ignoring whatever disgruntled, displeased reactions she notices for this. Her eyes, instead, rest on Roman Reigns' smirking face and she huffs, needing to leave the room immediately or risk slapping the nearly 50 people in the room. She has no qualms doing so in WWE but almost half of the people in the room are contracted with another company, and... She shudders at the thought of what _that_ lawsuit would look like, what her husband, what her _father_ would say to her.

Sitting rigidly in her office, she oversees the matches. The night begins with Odarg, TNA's poor attempt at passing off a man recently fired as a _new hire,_ beating Curtis Axel, and she grimaces. The poor showing for her company continues when BJ Whitmer defeats Chris Jericho in what, admittedly, had been a very close contest- the men mesh well, their veteran abilities both enough to keep the match rolling until Whitmer had overwhelmed Jericho with an exploder suplex, drawing all of the window from Jericho's throat and leaving him prone to the Adrenaline Spike. Stephanie grunts and turns away, mumbling viciously to herself.

She doesn't bother to watch the next match, aware by the commentary that it's moving fast. Too fast, in fact, for Kane to get much of a grip on Lucha Underground's Angelico and dish out the punishment everyone knows he's capable of. After dodging another chokeslam attempt, Kane's rage-filled roar is interrupted when finally Angelico spins off of the top rope, sending Kane hard to the mat and pinning him after a corkscrew senton. The bad luck for the WWE Superstars continue when Big Show loses to Jay Briscoe, Stephanie burying her face in her hands at this point.

She peeks through her fingers, however, when Paige comes out to compete against Madison Rayne, having some hope that one of her handpicked divas to be the base of the Divas Revolution all of those months ago wouldn't let her down. The match _does_ go back and forth for awhile, punches and kicks evolving into more brutal moves as Madison grabs Paige by the arm and whips her over, smashing Paige's face into her knee. Groaning, Paige rolls away and struggles to catch her breath, just for Madison to force her into the corner and choke her with her foot, ignoring the referee until she runs the risk of getting DQ'd. Her backing away gives Paige the space and time to lunge forward and clip Madison's legs, sending her toppling down with a squeech.

Rubbing her throat, Paige gets to her feet shakily and starts stomping Madison down, gripping her by the hair and pulling her up just to toss her aside like she's nothing. Madison struggles to get back up, the referee now rebuking Paige, but there's nothing for it: Paige grips Madison and tangles her up in the PTO, planting her feet as best as she can until finally the Knockout gives up and the match is called, Paige raising her hand in victory even as she struggles to catch a full breath.

Stephanie sighs, relieved that at least there's _one_ victory for WWE tonight. The streak lasts when Jack Swagger continues Roderick Strong's bad week by defeating him. But she thinks she might trade both of those wins when, somehow, someway, Mahabali Shera stands against everything Rusev throws at him and defeats him with one of his spinebusters. "What the hell did I just see?" she mumbles in disbelief as the man shuffles around her screen. "Oh God, make it stop."

Her disgust grows when the next match brings out Heath Slater to face ROH's Rowe. "Dammit," she moans, curling in on herself as Heath, oblivious fool that he is, strums an air guitar as Rowe stares at him blankly. Heath's ego always overwhelms his sense so, after a lock up attempt, he quickly finds himself down on the mat, gaping at the ceiling as Rowe lifts him up, just to suplex him back down. He gasps and struggles, trying to move away, but Rowe grabs him and all but throws him out of the ring with a forearm smash. Gripping his face, Heath staggers around a bit, trying to catch his breath, before punching an advancing Rowe and surprising the man. Somehow Heath collects himself and, when Rowe lunges at him again, meets him halfway with a heel kick that staggers him even further.

Seeing another chance, Heath takes to the top rope and hits a missile dropkick, finally knocking Rowe completely off of his feet. Lunging forward, Heath grips his legs and holds on title, just to get a two count. He grits his teeth and leans over, trying to lift Rowe... just to fail as his back protests this action, Heath staggering into the corner and rubbing his spine as Rowe slowly gets himself up, the expression on his face somewhere between being impressed and annoyed. Heath looks a little frightened, finally, but lifts his arm and elbows Rowe right in the face, staggering forward just in time to catch Rowe as he approaches _again_ and scoop powerslams him down, using his own momentum against him in both aiding to lift and to throw him back down. His back is on fire, but it all becomes meaningless as Heath pins him, closing his eyes as the three is achieved, immediately rolling away and flopping out of the ring.

Stephanie's not sure who's more surprised, Heath, Rowe, the audience, or herself. Her brief befuddlement passes, however, when Roman Reigns comes out the victor against Eddie Edwards. She grits her teeth and rolls her eyes skywards as he celebrates afterwards. She sits back and crosses her arms over her chest, watching with a glower as a handicap match she'd made in a fit of anger begins. Not much different than the matches with and against the Shield, it's a six on three mess, Prince Puma, NJPW's Tenzan, Neville, Zack Ryder, Son of Havok and Xavier Woods facing off against AJ Styles, Hanson and Makabe. It's a fast moving match and Stephanie finds herself caught in the action sometimes, raising her eyebrows at some of the highflying ridiculousness, AJ's team unable to compensate for the uneven numbers of the teams until finally Neville hits Red Arrow on Makabe and achieves the pin.

Following this, Ethan Carter III defeats Sheamus and Davey Richards defeats Kofi Kingston. Michael Bennett takes out Big E and Becky Lynch wins an Ultimate X match against Gail Kim, Ivelisse, Summer Rae, Natalya, Charlotte and Sasha Banks after keeping a desperate Summer Rae from grabbing the X hanging from the ropes crisscrossing in the middle of the ring by kicking her away and shimmying over before the others could stop brawling in and outside of the ring enough to stop her. Kalisto's speed overwhelms Cage's power next and he manages a quick pin after hitting the Saleda del Sol from the top rope, the crowd buzzing in shock and amazement.

The next match is a triple threat, Kevin Owens facing off with Mark Briscoe and Ryback, the three formidable men circling each other before Mark goes after Owens, the three of them brawling back and forth, exchanging powerful forearm shivers and bodyslams that makes the ring shake. Mark eventually gets thrown out by Ryback and Owens slips in, waiting for Ryback to turn around and hitting a bone rattling Popup Powerbomb as soon as he does. It's enough, Ryback unable to respond in time and getting pinned as Mark slips into the ring a second too late, Owens laughing smugly as he rolls out of the ring, the prizefighter one step closer to getting yet another prize to his name.

Afterwards, Stephanie can't help but to smirk as the main event begins and Alberto Del Rio's music hits, followed by Rockstar Spud's. The crowd buzzes, expecting something of a bloodbath as the two men face off in the ring. She even puts her clipboard down, curious to see just how badly beat down TNA's _underdog_ gets by the Mexican aristocrat. Spud looks nervous, understandably so, but when Alberto points and begins to laugh at him, he stands straight, keeps his chin up and waits for the bell to ring before lunging forward and hitting Alberto right in the face with a fist. This infuriates the taller man, and he chops Spud hard, ridding the man of oxygen with one blow and sending him staggering backwards. This is only worsened when Alberto snaps Spud's head back with a brutal enziguri, Spud collapsing to his knees while struggling to remain conscious.

Alberto laughs and grabs at Spud, deciding obviously to end the match early and pushing him into the corner before lifting him up and pressing him into the second rope before hopping up above him, glaring down. Spud is out of it, his eyes fluttering but, as Alberto makes the leap to stomp his chest and send him crashing into the mat, Spud instinctively uses his core strength to lift himself up and hug the turnbuckle, listening dazedly as Alberto hits the mat and jams his knee, cursing vehemently in Spanish. Spud pants and gasps, feeling nauseous and weak, but eventually he flops back and succeeds at freeing his legs, hitting the mat and slowly rolling onto his stomach to watch as Alberto paces around, trying to work out the pain his leg is currently in.

Realizing that Spud's free, Alberto tries to shake it off and go after him again but Spud twists around and drop toeholds him into the corner, struggling up to his feet and dropkicking Alberto into the turnbuckle post. Alberto staggers for a bit before getting out and lunging back towards Spud, just to get hit with a tilt-a-whirl DDT, knocking him out for real. A 450 splash later and Spud pins him, biting his lip until he hears the three. Until he hears the crowd, and his own music. He'd won! Suddenly drowning in adrenaline, he gets to his feet and tries to celebrate... until he sees Alberto struggling up and lunging for him. He just misses as Spud dives out of the ring and stares back at him, wide eyed, as he makes his way to the entrance ramp, the referee following him to raise his hand in victory.

Stephanie shuts the TV off before going to hit her head against the nearest wall.


	13. chapter 13

Stephanie stares at her nails. Stews over everything from the past few weeks. Shrugging, she releases a breath and gets to her feet, preparing to make an opening announcement before starting the show off. The crowd, of course, reacts with disdain towards her because of her actions on Raw, her husband's actions on Raw, her father's... but when she begins to speak, they quiet down, listen. Which is good, because this is a really important message and she would've been even angrier had they not listened.

"Well, I have to say I think this little experiment of mine has been a success," she says, giving it a second for the crowd to respond, which they do, mostly enthusiastically. "As I said at the start, the men and women competing here week in week out are working towards winning a title opportunity of their choosing with any company they prefer." She hesitates. "But, since we're heading into the last month of the challenge, we have to cut some names from the list of those who can still win. Anyone with only one match won will have to be taken out of the game after tonight. We hope they'll return when we do this again, after Wrestlemania." Pausing, a small smile crossing her lips, Stephanie examines the crowd before clapping her hands briskly. "That's all I have to say about the matter right now. We'll see how the landscape looks after tonight, but we have a lot to get through first so... enjoy the show!"

The first match sees Marti Bell defeat Summer Rae with a somersault neckbreaker, the blonde pitching a fit as Marti laughs at her on the way up the ramp, waving dismissively. The crowd quiets during BJ Whitmer vs Kevin Owens, a truly brutal match that sees both men complimenting each other well enough with their own individually brutal styles, Kevin failing to keep BJ up for a popup powerbomb, Whitmer wiggling out of it when Kevin least expected it, and getting a bone-rattling lariat for his troubles that sends him crumbling against the mat, BJ successfully pinning him. The next match is a gauntlet match that Chavo Guerrero somehow sweeps, using his knowledge of the business and his familial cunning to just get by with a massive win against a mix of guys from WWE, TNA, NJPW and ROH, to everyone's surprise.

After Big E defeats Lio Rush with the Big Ending, the crowd whispers and murmurs as KIng Cuerno makes his way to the ring, silent and imposing and all around terrifying. His opponent, Tanahashi, seems very unconcerned about all of this as he makes his way to the ring, however. Humming to the music in his head, he stares at Cuerno curiously before ridding himself of the striped clothing that covers his wrestling gear. Once they're both ready to go, the men circle each other, waiting and eager for the other to make the first move. Tanahashi finally gives in and moves, locking up with Cuerno for a moment before releasing and lunging out with a punch that rocks the man. He straightens up and smirks, seemingly pleased with what's going on in the opening moments of this match. Tanahashi actually holds his own pretty well, returning each blow that he receives with one of his own, the two of them going hold for hold until Cuerno hits a bridging German suplex that Tanahashi only gets out of before the three count.

Deciding not to screw around anymore, Tanahashi grabs him as he gets up and hits a swinging neckbreaker, leaving Cuerno vulnerable for his dragon sleeper, gritting his teeth as he plants his feet and pulls back on the submission hold. Cuerno doesn't tap out, though, and in fact fights out, sending Tanahashi back into the turnbuckle where he stands, in awe. Tanahashi goes after him, determined to see this through, and is piledriven into the mat for his trouble, gasping and fighting to regain control of himself... just to kick out at 2 and struggle to his feet. They stand face to face, eyeing each other with something close to respect in their gaze, when Tanahashi kicks him, leading into another german suplex that rocks Cuerno and leaves him unable to defend against the High Fly Flow, Tanahashi's weight burying him into the canvas of the mat. The three count here is a foregone conclusion, Cuerno unable to move, much less do anything significant to help himself.

The crowd is still buzzing as Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser both get wins in individual matches against Jey Uso and Luke Harper. Michael Elgin does away with Kofi Kingston is quick enough fashion, and the new no-nonsense Ryback swats Odarg away like he's a pointless fly. The next match sees Sasha team with TNA's Jade against Naomi and Rebel, the former members of Team BAD glaring at each other from across the ring while the Dollhouse members hesitate over going against their sisterhood. But gold will ease the pain of almost anything so it's with lessening trepidation that the four women get into the thick of things, Jade and Rebel even exchanging a few blows before Sasha gets the victory against Naomi after crashing her knees into Naomi's midsection while she was trapped in the turnbuckles and then following it up with the Bank Statement.

There are a series of matches afterwards that makes the crowd- and Stephanie- relieved that soon things will be limited, with less guys to keep track of, less people vying for the biggest prize offered. Bobby Roode defeats D-Von Dudley, Lucha Underground's Cisco gets the win against Xavier Woods, Alex Shelley succeeds against Castro, and Erick Rowan's bumbling offense somehow makes him a winner against Jack Evans. Matt Hardy defeating Chris Jericho seems to take the wind out of the audience, and Sheamus winning an Ultimate X match- which, Stephanie isn't sure why these keep having to happen, but the crowd seems to like them well enough and she figures why not, it's a little better than being too gimmick heavy. Rusev continues the League of Nations' winning ways by ignoring Nick Jackson's attempt at a superkick party by snapping his head back with a kick of his own, slamming him down with ease and pinning him like it's the most boring thing in the world.

Afterwards, Wade Barrett makes his way to the ring and slaps Rusev on the arm in a subtle show of congratulations before leaning against the turnbuckle post to watch and wait. He's not competed against Johnny Mundo in years, since 2011, and he assumes it'll be amusing to remind himself of how it feels to compete against a tornado who can't stop moving, even when it'd taken him out of WWE and into Lucha Underground. Mundo's eyes are dark, focused, and it's clear he's remembering the old Wade, as well. The leader of Nexus who'd made it his mission to ruin everything and everyone around him. "How's your neck, Barrett?" he yells across the ring, smirking when Wade huffs.

"Never better, how's yours?" Wade demands, reminding John that yes, he well remembers. FIghting Johnny, sometimes, is a little like a dance more than an actual match. The man moves so smoothly, so fluidly. It's clear he's avoiding Wade's elbows, not wanting to give him an opportunity to hit a Bull Hammer, but that leaves it easy for Wade to avoid John's attempts at offense as well, especially his kicks. But finally the hesitant offense bores both of them and they settle more into the battle, deciding to take chances instead of trying to survive off of defense until the other screws up. For this reason, John hits a pretty sick enziguiri that rocks Wade, leaves him breathless and uncomfortable as he warily reaches up to touch his stinging neck. Shaking it off, he lunges after John and sweeps his legs out from under him, mounting him and punching him as brutally as he can without risking a disqualification.

Rolling off of John when he's sure the referee's about to lose his cool, Wade's just made it to his feet when John's springboarding off of the ropes again, crashing directly into Wade. This knocks him to the mat and he lays there, staring up at the lights in a daze. John used to always go for the "End of the World", as he's taken to calling it in his post-WWE days, just a little too quickly, and paid for it, Wade feeling some sort of smug superiority that this hasn't changed even after all of these years. He waits until the last possible moment and lifts his elbow, slamming it directly across John's face before he could land across Wade's body, the force of the blow sending him down onto the mat, limp. Wade pins him with no doubt in his mind and laughs roughly as the three count is achieved, gaining the third win in a row for the League of Nations.

The main event that night is a tag match and the crowd goes quiet once more, lights filling the arena, as Bray Wyatt's music hits and his fireflies respond eagerly. His tag partner is not a family member, clearly, but instead Bo Dallas comes out to the Social Outcasts music, trying to look assured despite how hesitant he clearly is to get into the ring with Bray Wyatt. Once he does, however, the two men stare at each other, Bray starting to laugh. Not sure what's so funny, but thinking that Bray must not be all bad if he's laughing, Bo starts to chuckle as well, his mirth growing. At least until the sound of change dropping fills the arena and the IWGP champion, Okada, makes his way to the ring. He seems far from pleased with this match, especially when his tag partner makes his way down. Bullet Club's cleaner, Kenny Omega. There is no laughter or attempt at camaraderie between the two men as the match begins. Okada doesn't trust Omega and he makes it clear when he refuses to let Kenny start, facing off with Bray with a cold determination in his eyes.

Okada and Bray are all over the place, the IWGP champion putting the eater of worlds through his paces, Bray laughing under his breath as he tilts his head and takes in the young man, not seeming too bothered by it when Bo tags himself in. This gives Bray more time to observe, to watch and learn about Okada, what makes him tick. And learn he does, watching as Bo's attempts at offense are either ineffectual or ignored entirely. Kenny isn't tagged in, Kenny isn't even _looked_ at and Bray laughs roughly as Bo gets back over and tags him in desperately, giving up. Bray is still laughing, the strangeness of the moment causing Okada to freeze. Bray takes his chance then and attacks, punching and snarling as Okada stumbles back, not expecting this after the last few minutes. As soon as Okada's hit his corner, it's over. Kenny tags himself in and the dance begins again, Bray laughing at him as he throws everything in his bag of tricks at the former Cleaner. When Omega barely flinches at Wyatt twisting his body for his spiral walk, Bray feels validated, alive for the first time in a long time. _Someone perhaps gets me,_ he thinks iwth a smug laugh before rolling up onto his feet.

He's barely halfway there, however, when the offense begins anew. Palm strikes to his face, to his chest, to any part of him that comes in reach of the smug, horribly quick man before him. It finally stops, leaving Bray breathless and feeling _honored_ when the ring starts to shake under him and... and... the side of Kenny's knee is meeting his face, whipping his head back and steling away what remains of his consciousness. Bray doesn't remember being pinned, but it's fine. He doesn't mind the loss. It had been the best contest he'd been apart of for a very long, long time, possibly meeting someone just as rotted inside as badly as he himself is.

He laughs his way up the ramp and to the back, eyes locked on Kenny Omega as he makes his way backstage. _Thank you,_ his gaze seems to repeat until he's out of sight.


	14. Chapter 14

With her family imploding, Stephanie doesn't have much to say so she stays backstage and watches as the show carries on without her. With the reduced competitors due to there only being four weeks left in the contest, there aren't as many matches on the show tonight and she finds herself relieved for it. Less to focus on.

The first match sees Ryback facing off with Michael Bennett, TNA's supposed miracle sneering at the man throughout his entrance. The crowd either boos Bennett or chants Gillberg at Ryback, there's very little in-between, and the two men stare at each other, waiting for the bell to ring to begin atacking each other. Ryback's not the type for power struggles in the middle of the ring and Bennett finds himself quickly overwhelmed by forearms, punches, and other generally brutal attacks. How he stays on his feet, he's not sure, but eventually he gets an elbow up and catches Ryback in the temple, dazing the larger man. Bennett then slowly fights his way back up, kneeing Ryback in the face and scooping him up in a fireman's carry before pulling him over and driving him into the mat.

Taking a minute to catch his breath, deciding to use whatever remains of Ryback's momentum against him, Bennett leans over and presses his forearms to his knees, watching and waiting. When Ryback staggers up after a few moments, Bennett grabs him and piledrives him into the mat, adding to his disorientation. When Ryback struggles to his feet once more, it's easy to snag his wrist, snap him around into a solid hook straight to the jaw that levels him, causes him to collapse backwards. Whatever momentum he may have thought he was gaining against the Social Outcasts is proven worthless as Bennett pins him easily and keeps him from gaining another win towards the title match of his choice.

Bennett's laughter echoes in Ryback's ears as he struggles to regain his senses, sit up and try to sort out what exactly just happened.

Once the ring is cleared, Christopher Daniels makes his way out and stands rigidly in his captain's outfit, watching grimly as Kalisto comes out to a chorus of LUCHA! LUCHA! LUCHA! chants. He's nonplussed by it all, only moving enough to take off his jacket and hand it off in preparation for the match ahead of him. Kalisto's speed doesn't bother him, his jaw clicking as he takes in the younger man, his mask, his eager gaze. Everything. Within moments, Daniels is sure he has a good read for his opponent but, even so, he takes it slowly. Meets Kalisto in the middle of the ring with a few experimental punches while trying to avoid his nimble feet.

Daniels had slowed his in-ring skills down some- at his age and experience level, the flips and the suicide dives and such are available for a little flash, but they're not necessary so why bother?- but Kalisto is proving to be just the challenge he needs to reintroduce them to his skill set, so he does. Kalisto taking advantage of leaving him down and dazed enough after a superkick that had just seemed to appear out of nowhere to attempt a springboard hurricarana is reversed by Daniels rolling away and leaping up to meet him with an dropkick, which he hits perfectly. It dazes Kalisto enough that Daniels leaps up to the top rope and hits his double jump moonsault, pinning him decisively.

The next match is ROH's Moose vs Stardust, and barely has the crowd gotten the "MOOSE! MOOSE! MOOSE!" chant out of their system before it's over, Stardust's every attempt at offense rebuffed until Moose had him trapped in a sequence of left hooks before spearing the staggering man down hard, hooking his leg and pinning him. The fast match does nothing to dissuade the crowd from chanting his name.

The next match goes almost as quickly, Naomi struggling against Lucha Underground's Kobra Moon, trying to weaken her enough for her to lock in her crucifix choke... but there's nothing to be done for it, Kobra Moon keeps the upperhand throughout and when she locks in her snake sleeper, Naomi fights against it fruitlessly until the last of her energy fades away and she passes out in Kobra Moon's hold, slumping against the mat as the referee calls for the bell.

By this point, everyone is buzzing. So far none of the people who had actually won enough matches to advance this far had won _tonight_ , which makes the fans wonder if perhaps some, if not all, of them were just flukes, lucky on any individual night but not actually good enough to actually be in that position. As Neville makes his way to the ring, followed by NJPW's Okada, the buzz only grows while people laugh and consider how embarrassing it would be for WWE should their people all get sweeped, the whispers fading as more and more of Okada's fans try to grab some of the money with his face on the bills pouring from the ceiling overhead following the ka-ching sound leading into his entrance.

Neville is fast, Okada is intense, and their match is fun, quick. Exchanging punch for punch, kick for kick, Neville tries to go to the top rope just to get stopped by Gedo's pride and joy, lifted bodily and suplexed hard against the canvas, Okada going up top and hitting him with an elbow drop that rids him of even more oxygen. Okada waits, then, for him to get up, wanting to hit the Rainmaker and move on, successful in at least making up for not making it further in this challenge, but Neville finds a second wind and meets him with a leg lariat, dazing him as his nose slams into the mat, his entire face stinging now.

Heading for the top once more, Neville lands a solid corkscrew 450 splash, Okada spitting out painfully as his body convulses at the hit, the man curling in on himself in an attempt to temper the agony shooting through his ribs. Neville is gripping his ribs as well, walking a little slower as he heads up once more for the Red Arrow, just to find his feet taken out from under him once more. Okada gasps and pants, struggling to stay on his feet as Neville collapses in front of him in a crumpled mess, his lips twisting into a smug smirk that _almost_ succeeds at turning the crowd on him. Okada ignores this, grabbing Neville by the hair and lifting him up, preparing to snap him forward and into the Rainmaker... but Neville revives just in time and his boot meets with Okada's head, leaving the former IWGP champion on rubbery legs.

He's just back first collapsed to the mat when Neville heads back up to the top, sucking in as big a breath as he possible can before releasing it slowly. Twisting around in midair as he spins towards the mat, Neville lands solidly against Okada's midsection and instinctively grabs for his leg, pulling it up and pinning him, leaving no chance for the man to kick out or get free, gasping painfully as the referee counts the three.

The dazed crowd watches on before the buzz turns into cheers and applause, a sign of respect for the two men in the ring. Okada gets slowly to his feet, holding his ribs and looking annoyed as he examines Neville, who is watching him impassively. Stumbling forward, Okada holds a hand out and waits, his eyes clearing a bit when Neville meets him halfway and shakes his hand. "Congratulations," he says, bowing his head in some sign of respect before rolling out of the ring to let his opponent have this moment.

Neville grins as the crowd shows their support for him, raising an arm in victory. He still has a long road ahead, he knows, but winning here, tonight, brings him one step closer and he's sure he'll make it.


	15. chapter 15

Busy with the road to Wrestlemania, Stephanie is too frenzied to be at the arena to watch the latest episode of Team Work in person, but she watches from Stamford while handling WWE business.

The first match scheduled is Kalisto vs Michael Bennett, the US champion flying all around and staying a step ahead of TNA's so-called miracle... for awhile, at least. Until Kalisto flies off of the top rope and gets caught, Bennett slamming him down with a sit-out side slam. Kalisto never recovers fully after that, trying to failing until he's piledriven into the mat. Bennett pins him easily and then pushes him away before getting to his feet and celebrating, undisturbed by the boos and jeers from the crowd.

Neville vs James Storm is next and they start off a little slow, feeling each other out. Storm barely flinches at his kicks, finally landing a few solid punches that makes Neville stumble, his footing failing him. James catches him and slams him across his knees in a brutal backbreaker that rids Neville of a fair amount of his oxygen. He struggles and gasps, gripping his ribs, before fighting back to his feet when Storm grabs him under the arms, pulling him up to continue the match. Neville meets him with a solid kick to the face, rocking him, before landing a German suplex on him, bridging into a cover attempt. Storm kicks out at 2, though, and Neville gasps, kicking him again and again to weaken him, before heading up.

James meets him on the way down with a superkick, leaving him limp against the mat as he walks over to the ropes himself. He kneels in the corner, waiting until Neville gets to his feet and tries to spear him down, just to run into thin air as Neville leaps up and over, kicking him in the back and sends him staggering a couple of steps before he hits the mat, Neville then scrambling for the ropes. One 450 splash later and it's all over, Neville reaching out to help him up and shake his hand, a glance of respect passing between the two men.

The divas battle next in a four woman match, Becky walking out the victor against Charlotte, Sasha and Naomi after locking in her disarmer on Charlotte and making her tap. None of the other women look thrilled about it, especially Sasha, who will have to compete against Becky _and_ Charlotte at Wrestlemania for the divas title, the victory only succeeding at making Becky all the more determined to walk out with her first championship win. Ryback wrestles, and loses, to Bobby Roode next, glaring around at the crowd afterwards as the _Gillberg_ chants intensify.

He storms his way up the ramp, yelling at random members of the audience, before leaving the ring clear for the main event. Stephanie had had a little fun with this one, finding another way to stick it to Roman and his _family._ A beat the clock match with Kevin Owens facing off against first Jimmy Uso and then Jey Uso. It's no surprise when Jimmy gets ragdolled by the Intercontinental champion, brutal fists and crazy kicks to the skull, flattening him in the corner before he's lifted up for a pop up powerbomb that ends the match in about 2:12.

Jimmy is groggy and staggering when Jey comes out, helping his brother backstage before entering the ring himself. It's clear what he's doing from the start, dancing around Kevin and hitting offense where he can, frustrating the man. After a rough kick to the skull, Kevin sprawls in the corner, trying to catch his breath, when he gets rocked with forearm smash that downs him. A headbutt followed by a Samoan splash takes the last of the oxygen from Kevin and he lays there, dazed and dizzy, barely aware as the referee counts to a three above him.

The clock is stopped, the audience buzzes and cheers for Jey as he sneers down at Owens. "That's what you get for hurtin' my brother, man," he says, pushing Kevin's hand away with his foot and examining the crowd with a curious glance before grinning, raising his hand up. Winning, especially all of his own, is always an amazing feeling. Winning at such an important juncture- Wrestlemania season _and_ as Team Work is concluding, leaves him proud and excited.

From Connecticut, Stephanie huffs and shuts her TV off. That hadn't gone the way she'd planned, but it's no matter. Soon enough Mania will be here, and the first round of Team Work will conclude, with preferably a WWE Superstar having their choice of a rival championship to go after. Her lips quirk up into a smug smirk as she leans over and wraps up her paperwork for the evening, eager to go home and be with her world champion husband and beautiful daughters.


	16. chapter 16

Injuries are running rampant. Neville had suffered a broken ankle, leaving his future in Team Work bleak. For this reason, Stephanie decides to have a couple of quick multi-man matches. The first round of this show will be ending with Wrestlemania, and from there she figures they'll start all over again, but for now she has to see this through first.

The first match is Grado vs Ryback vs Kalisto vs Xavier Woods, the match going about as well as can be expected. Ryback's only focus is Kalisto, which leaves Xavier and Grado to fight, Xavier barely fazed by Grado's moveset comprised of imitations of other, famous moves. In fact, that's his downfall when he goes for a clothesline just for Xavier to catch his arm and twist it, sending him down in an inverted stomp facebreaker, leaving him dazed and unable to move as Xavier dashes forward and pins him, holding his breath until the bell rings and Ryback finally looks up from Kalisto, roaring in anger as he lunges at Xavier, who just manages to escape, laughing at the three losers in the ring.

Naomi vs Ivelisse is next, the two women sneering at each other as they circle. Tamina is on the outside, so Son of Havoc and Angelico had also remained, the five of them clearly full of distrust and hate. The two women finally lock up, Ivelisse yelling out angrily as Naomi briefly gets the upperhand, slinging her down to the mat... which only serves to anger Ivelisse, causing her to leap up to her feet and meet Naomi with a solid forearm to the face, followed by a kick that levels her sufficiently.

Ivelisse smirks as Son of Havoc yells support in to her, Naomi coughing and getting up, rubbing her face. "Dammit!" she snaps, slamming her fists against the mat before getting to her feet and letting the game start all over again. Tiring of the back and forth, finding their abilities to be almost even in more ways, Ivelisse lunges forward and hits a solid roundhouse kick, sending Naomi face first into the mat. Naomi eventually staggers back up, staggering until Ivelisse grabs her once more, just to get hit by Naomi's heel thudding against the side of her head. Ivelisse lets go and groans, gripping her head, before ducking just in time- Naomi flies over her, trying and failing to hit the Rear View.

Ivelisse laughs at her, shrill and cruel, until Naomi uses her impressively strong legs to wrap around the woman and draw her down, trying to lock in her crucifix choke... until Ivelisse gets free, in a way, by reversing it into her own guillotine choke that she eventually floats over into the dragon sleeper, Naomi unable to breathe enough to fight the fluttering of her eyes. Finally the fight leaves her and her hand goes limp, the referee deciding to call it., holding Ivelisse's hand up in victory as Naomi watches from the map, weak and gritting her teeth against the pain and humiliation of losing like this.

The final match of the night is another fatal four way, pitting Jey vs Jimmy vs Kevin Owens vs Michael Bennett. Stephanie's always derived a certain pleasure from watching WWE guys defeat people from the other federations so it makes her grin when Owens catches Bennett early on, popup powerbombing him before pinning him in an attempt to finish early.

It looks like he's succeeded when the twins lunge in, working together for now, and beats him off of Bennett, leaving him vulerable to a splash from the top. Which hits perfectly. Despite that, the twins start to argue over who gets the honor of pinning him... just for Owens to sneak in and superkick both twins, one at a time, before they can do much more than turning to look at him, jaws agape.

He thinks he has them but then Bennett gets up and dives him into the mat coldly. Things go even worse when Jimmy grabs Bennett, exchanging punches with him until they both flop over the top ripe, the brawl continuing outside. This leaves Owens and Jey who he'd assumed was the weaker brother... until, that is, Jey hits him with a corkscrew forearm smash, sending him crashing to the ground and opening him to a loss after another splash from the top rope, pressing all of his weight down on Kevin's chest. The three that follows sounds both false and beautiful at once and Jey has to fight his tears, the smile that crosses his face. "I won!" he exclaims, shaking off the thoughts he's wounded himself with and standing proudly until hte show is over and the camera is gone.

He hasn't been this happen in a very long time.


	17. chapter 17

Less than a week to Wrestlemania. With everything at WWE moving along at such a desperate clip now, Stephanie isn't at the event, which leaves the locker room a bit more relaxed, at ease with the matches to come. Not that things aren't still competitive, of course they are. Especially with guys from three different wrestling companies in one small building.

The show opens with a divas triple threat, Naomi vs Sasha vs Charlotte. The two former Team BAD members ignore each other, focusing their attention on Charlotte, until Naomi gets in Sasha's way when she tries to stretch Charlotte in the corner to leap up and drop her knees against her midsection. "Hey!" Sasha exclaims, trying to push Naomi away... just to receive a heel directly to the face, downing her instantly.

She's dazed, trying to shake it off, fight back into the match, when Naomi tangles Charlotte up in her submission hold, wrenching back on the woman in a way that even Charlotte's limber body can't take, causing the diva's champion to tap out right in front of Sasha. "No!" she exclaims, pounding the mat in frustration as Naomi laughs, backing up the ramp with a smug look on her face. With Sasha's first real opportunity at the divas' title this Sunday, a loss right now leaves her gritting her teeth and trying to fight off the self-doubts.

Her only comfort is that Charlotte is probably feeling about as low.

Kalisto faces off with Roderick Strong next, the two of them circling each other for a few moments before approaching, exchanging kicks, punches and forearms until Kalisto gets a bit braver, trying more high-flying moves until Roderick grabs him from the top rope and drops him down across his knees in a brutal backbreaker. Kalisto rolls away, crying out in pain, as Roderick follows and attacks with kicks and knees, leaving him writhing on the mat. Roderick's just lifted him, chopping him hard across the chest and preparing him for a suplex when Kalisto revives enough to knee him in the head, wiggling free and elbowing him hard before superkicking him. Roderick now off-balanced, Kalisto lunges forward and twists him around in the Salida del sol, effectively defeating him.

Jimmy and Jey Uso then have back-to-back victories against Eddie Edwards and Bobby Roode in high flying, intense matches that leave the crowd buzzing before the main event, which is Kevin Owens vs James Storm. Once both men are in the ring, the bell rings and they eye each other before moving right into the offense. It's brutal, some of the punches that they exchange, rarely a moment's pause in the brawl until Storm shoulders Kevin clear out of the ring and he lands with a breath-ridding thud on the mat outside, staring up at the ceiling with dazed eyes. Unwilling to let this opportunity go, James follows him out and punches him a couple of times before turning to argue with the referee, who's trying to get some control back, but this gives Kevin the time he needs to regroup.

When James turns back around, he gets a forearm to the face, finding himself now flattened on the ground, barely able to breathe around the stabbing pain in his chest. Kevin sneers and rolls into the ring to break the count before rolling back out to the floor, kicking and punching James until finally he lifts him up and throws him back into the ring. Breathing in deeply, Owens sneers at him as he staggers, tries to regroup. There's no time though, Kevin has him as soon as he gets to his feet, gripping his arm and sending him into the ropes where he instictively bounces off and runs back towards Kevin, just to get caught and sent down hard in a bone-rattling pop-up powerbomb.

Kevin laughs as soon as the match is over and he's won. He may be the Interontinental champion, but winning this contest would leave him with all that he'd need to be able to invade another company and take _their_ title. Now that he knows what he's going to do, he smirks. _Successfully defend my title at Wrestlemana.. then come back here and figure out what belt I should add to my collection..._


	18. chapter 18

With Wrestlemania behind them, Stephanie tries to distract herself from the pain in her midsection and her anger at Roman Reigns succeeding against HHH by focusing on the last week of Team Work. Thankfully it's an easy week, she has no major booking decisions to make, can just sit back and watch as the group of wrestlers who had acquired the most points up to this point compete to see who's going to be awarded the chance to compete in another company for the belt of their choice.

The wrestlers walk slowly out to the ring, looking around at the crowd. Bobby Roode, Michael Bennett, Eddie Edwards, Bray Wyatt, Davey Richards, Kalisto, Jimmy and Jey Uso, James Storm, Xavier Woods, Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Naomi enter and prepare for the battle royal to begin. The bell doesn't ring, however, until Neville gingerly makes his way into the ring, leaning against the turnbuckle because he doesn't have any other choice as he can't put weight on his leg.

They brawl in odd, random groups for awhile, James Storm and Michael Bennett exchanging kicks and punches until Bobby Roode runs forward and tries to clothesline Bennett over, just for Bennett to pull Storm in front of him, Roode accidentally sending him over the top rope. The tag partners gape at each other in shock, both distracted when Jimmy Uso goes flying over the top rope thanks to Davey Richards. The three women are also exchanging blows and kicks, Naomi running forward when Charlotte is vulnerable and Becky is trying to hit her with the becksplex, finally kicking Becky right in the head and sending her tumbling clear out of the ring.

Bray Wyatt is laughing, looking around the ring, as a group of the wrestlers converge around him and force him into the ropes, working together to beat him down and make him susceptible to being eliminated. Kalisto is next out, tossed by Jey Uso, who smirks down at him as he slaps his fist against the mat before leaving, disappointed and frustrated. Eddie Edwards, Bobby Roode, Michael Bennett and Davey Richards are all exchanging punches, clotheslines and random bits of offense until Eddie rushes after Roode, who dips and back body drops him, sending him flying over the top rope, his hitting the mat back first, staring up at the lights in shock. Michael Bennett is next, Davey and Bobby working together to eliminate him.

Exchanging quick glances, they turn back to the rest of the action. In the corner, Naomi and Charlotte continue to fight, both struggling to be the only remaining woman in the match... when Naomi's long legs circle Charlotte's neck and sends her flinging into the middle of the ring, opening her up for a rough clothesline that staggers her back into the ring ropes. Charlotte struggles, trying to withstand, but Naomi braces against the turnbuckle and forces her over, sending her outside as well. They glare at each other before Naomi turns back to the match, waiting for an opportunity. A way to win against men much larger than her.

With the group thinning out significantly, Davey Richards and Bobby Roode's tension continues and the two men struggle for control, going back and forth against the ropes until finally Davey is hit and wobbles, Bobby lifting him and throwing him over with very little issue. His success doesn't last long when Jey Uso and Xavier Woods runs forward and clotheslines him out of the ring.

With Naomi in one corner, Neville in the second, Jey Uso and Xavier sinking into the opposing corners, they stare at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Finally, Xavier runs forward to attack Jey while Neville and Naomi stand in place and wait, watching closely just in case they get a chance to do something to turn the tide of this match. Jey fights his way out of the corner and finally punches Xavier away, trying to get more space... just to receive a forearm to the throat that winds him. He kneels down, gasping and struggling, when Xavier gets a shoulder under him and bodies him up and over, sending him crashing over the top rope.

Then there were three. Neville finally braves his way out of the corner and tries to mount some sort of offense, any kind of offense, but Naomi and Xavier neither are slow enough for him to catch so he freezes, balancing precariously on his good leg, when they grip him under the arms and push him towards the ropes, easing him over the top and ignoring his fruitless struggles. Once there, they simply give him a push so he falls on his ass and stares up at them, annoyed, until a referee brings him his crutch and he hobbles away.

Once he's gone, they circle each other, Xavier seemingly reluctant to get close to her. She finally just trips him, causing him to fall face first onto the mat, rolling away and gripping his jaw and nose. "Ow!" Naomi laughs overhead before picking him up by his wild hair and dragging him over to the ropes. Halfway there, Xavier notices and begins to struggle but she's stubborn and has him by the ropes when he finally pushes her off, gripping his scalp and complaining under his breath.

He turns to lunge at her, try to figure out a way to win without really doing anything serious against her, when the lights dim before him, something blocking his vision before impacting with his head and sending him clear over the top rope out onto the floor. He lays there groaning, dizzy and struggling to figure out what happened, when he catches the recap on the titantron just visible from this angle. _The rear view, of course._ "That's booty!" he cries, realizing that he's officially lost this entire damn thing.

But there's nothing to be done for it, so he leaves her behind. Walks past as Stephanie approaches the ring, walking patiently due to Neville along beside her. As she enters the ring, a microphone being handed to her, Neville awkwardly slips inside as well and stands curiously next to Naomi. "So," Stephanie says, "once the scores from the matches you've both wrestled and won are tallied, it's clear we have a tie." She clears her throat and walks a couple of steps away from them. "Neville, you're still injured, but you had such a good showing here, I'm going to leave the title opportunity open ended for the next five months. Until the next set of Team Work tapings are concluded, you can challenge for whatever title you want."

Here, she pauses and turns towards Naomi. "This means you as well, Naomi. Since you both tied, we're going to have two winners this go around. Naomi, you can challenge for whichever belt you prefer whenever you want."

Naomi's face is lit up, glowing, with hope and happiness as Neville considers Stephanie's words, nodding slowly. "Thank you, Stephanie," she cries out. "I'll do my best not to disappont you."

"As soon as I'm a hundred percent," Neville says softly, a sharp contrast to the woman's exurberance, "I'll prove that this was the right decision."

Stephanie smiles at them before turning to address the crowd. "Next week, we begin all over again! New faces, new matches, new everything! Don't forget to tune in and see who wins an opportunity like Naomi and Neville have!"

As the cameras pan away, the taping ending, she takes a breath and smiles. _It's a success._


	19. chapter 19

HHH is still humilated. Stephanie is annoyed and frustrated. Her father had decided, for whatever reason, to let Shane run things for another week. So she turns her focus onto the next cycle of Team Work. There's nothing she can do about the past, Neville is injured and it's up to Naomi whenever she uses her opportunity, so onwards and upwards.

The first match on the card is Jeff Hardy vs Baron Corbin, the two men going back and forth until Baron takes Jeff down for the three count. Miz comes out to the ring next for a triple threat match, looking far from happy as he sends Maryse back, not wanting her in the vicinity as NJPW's Makabe and TNA's Bobby Lashley comes out. It doesn't last long, Lashley getting ahold of Mike and slinging him back in a vicious throw that rattles him and rids him of most of the oxygen in his lungs, leaving him vulnerable... but instead, Makabe low-bridges Lashley over the top rope and scrambles over, pinning Mike and taking the three count.

Naito defeats Devon Dudley next, leading into another triple threat match that Stephanie had sanctioned because of the volume of wrestlers who had signed up already, lulled by the promise of further opportunities in their careers. Cisco doesn't seem too bothered by facing off with his fellow The Crew member, Castro, but it's Aiden English whose crisp calmness benefits him the most, leading him to succeeding against both of the men, their attempts at double teaming him failing when they both want the pinfall, leaving them open to a swinging neckbreaker and a senton bomb, allowing him to pin them both at once.

Stephanie had been pondering a new way to display the various female wrestlers they have now from all of the different wrestling federations, and could only think of one thing that had never been done before. A multi-woman iron woman match. Thirty minutes of the five women wrestlers that had impressed in the past week. The crowd reacts approvingly as Paige, Ivelisse, Jade, Sasha and Natalya enter the ring, eyeing each other distrustingly. It's a rush of humanity at first, each woman desperate to prove herself, chain wrestling and submissions evolving into brutal attacks and highflying attempts, Ivelisse trying hard to get the first pin of the match as Natalya and then Sasha kicks out after her vicious kicks.

As it happens, Natalya gets the first point, her wherewithal and knowledge about the business coming in handy as she takes advantage after Sasha is struggling following her hitting knees to Ivelisse's midsection against the turnbuckle posts, twisting her up in the sharpshooter. Paige, Ivelisse nor Jade are able to get there in time and Sasha quickly taps, screaming in pain as her legs protest the abuse they've already been put through. Paige quickly goes after Natalya as soon as they're separated and kicks her hard in the face, pulling her up into the PTO. Jade and Ivelisse scramble to break it up and Natalya hits the mat face first, before they throw Paige out of the ring.

Ivelisse has just gone after Natalya when Sasha hooks her arm under Jade's legs and rolls her up, gritting her teeth and holding on until the three count happens. Jade curses and starts squeeching and clawing, Sasha rolling away and joining Paige on the outside- just to get met with a clothesline that downs her and leaves her gasping. Time is starting to slip away and it's a determined Paige who storms in, shoulderchecks Ivelisse before turning to get revenge from Natalya. It's another solid kick to her skull that leaves her down, twitching and weak. Sasha is slumped in the corner, watching, and their eyes meet before both women get up and meet in the middle of the ring, exchanging blow after blow after blow.

The crowd is hot, watching all of this in awe, and when Sasha gets a pin after a frog splash, Paige stumbles up, clutching her ribs as her eyes water in agony. They resume fighting, slower, clearly sore... and then Paige hits the Paige Turner, sending Sasha to a weird, dazed place that wrestlers slip into more than they care to admit. Paige gets her second pin in five minutes and Sasha curses, almost relieved when Ivelisse re-injects herself in things to give Sasha a minute to take a breath, formulate a new game plan. Ivelisse and Paige exchange blows while Jade and Natalya lurk around outside of the ring, waiting for an opportunity to re-introduce themselves to the action.

Jade sneaks in and double clotheslines both women over the top rope, clearing the ring considerably. It leaves Sasha more comfortable and she catches Natalya in a quick tilt-a-whirl bodyscissors, sending her right into Jade and knocking both women out at once. From there, it's easy enough to get two pins back to back, and watch as the seconds clock slowly winds down. Paige does try to recover, mount some sort of offense... but nothing comes of it. Sasha bats away any serious attempt from the weakened woman, and soon enough, time runs out and Sasha is declared a winner with three points to Paige's two and Natalya's one. Neither Jade nor Ivelisse had succeeded at any points.

NJPW's Shibata loses in a handicap match against Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles, Dean's Dirty Deeds coming out of nowhere and laying him out. Honma has the opposite luck and defeats Ryback after a rough battle back and forth.

Kalisto is pushed into another guantlet match, defeating Hanson and Bubba Ray one after the other, just to stop short when he's face to face with Dalton Castle, his boys standing at the entrance ramp and fanning themselves off while they watch, not disturbed in the slightest. He finds himself quickly flipping this way and that, easily tossed around by Dalton's freaky upperbody strength in executing so many variations of suplexes that Kalisto can barely breathe, much less think. When Dalton finally covers him, he's almost relieved that it's over.

Joey Ryan puts the handcuffs away for a few minutes to compete and succeed in a six man match against Big E, Rowe, Simon Gotch, Apollo Crews and Kofi Kingston, leading the way into the main event.

Drew McIntyre stares down Kenny Omega as he approaches the ring, a crazed look in his eyes. The bell's barely rung before they crash into each other, exchanging punches and forearms, boots and kicks, until Drew hooks him up in a suplex attempt, Kenny squirming free and catching him with a running knee strike while he's down on one knee. He then strikes him with a variety of palm strikes to his chest and face, leaving Drew winded and confused, before Kenny forces him up to his feet and grips him around the middle, slamming him backwards with a flipping release dragon suplex, rolling over and trying to pin him- just to choke and stare up at the lights with a dazed grimace on his face as Drew kicks out.

Kenny's just gotten back to his feet as Drew struggles for the bottom rope, forcing himself up bit by bit until they're eye to eye again. Drew motions him to _come on_ and Kenny flips him the bird before lunging forward. This is a mistake, Drew meeting him halfway with a big boot that floors him. He catches up enough speed to then hit the Claymore, ridding Kenny of even more oxygen before forcing him back up to his feet. Drew's eyes are dark and resolute as he lifts Kenny up and slams him down hard, the force of the Future Shock DDT rattling Omega's teeth and leaving him unable to respond as the referee counts to three against him.

Drew celebrates overhead as Kenny spits to the side in disgust, hating himself for losing such a pivotal match. _This isn't the end,_ he thinks, struggling to roll over so he can escape the ring and go backstage, lick his wounds and figure out where he went wrong. _Far from it._


	20. Chapter 20

Stephanie's relieved to still have _this_ to fall back on. Her vision, something her father couldn't take from her too. HHH is still at home, stewing, trying not to get caught up in their daughter's lives and school yard drama. She sighs and pinches her nose, thinking about it all. She loves her family, but dammit, sometimes it's nice to be a few states away from her. Pulling herself back together, she focuses on the monitor and watches as the show begins.

She has no announcements to make, things are mostly just a waiting game for her. Book matches, make sure Neville nor Naomi want to cash in their attempts for another federation's championship, and then sit back and try to think of a way out of this hell she and HHH finds themselves in regarding WWE. She only half-watches as NJPW's Ishii defeats Ziggler after a few minutes of fast, hard hitting action that eventually culminates into a pin after Dolph tries, and fails, to hit Ishii with a superkick just to get suplexed into the mat for his troubles.

Baron Corbin subdues Matt Sydal's speed next with his intense offense, pinning him within a few minutes to the audience's dissatisfaction. Simon Gotch's motivation on the main roster carries over to here as he defeats James Storm next, and Stephanie finds herself sitting down to try to track the next match, with Lucha Underground's Killshot vs the Usos. It's impossible, however, the men flying here, and there, and everywhere, until Jey splashes Killshot down and Jimmy achieves the pin, the twins grinning and hitting forearms before rolling out of the ring and heading backstage.

Prince Puma faces Bray Wyatt next, looking unnerved by the cult leader even though he's curretnly without his family. For this reason, he starts off slowly, trying to feel Bray out. Punches, forearms and kicks slowly evolving to top rope moves and more brutal mat-based attacks... until his attempt at a diving kneedrop is reversed, Bray slamming him into the mat after kicking his forehead to lead into Sister Abigail. Bray's evil, warped laughter then echoes around the arena as the audience hushes to listen to him.

Afterwards, Jade defeats Emma in quick enough fashion, the women meeting each other with kicks to the face, which Jade recovers from first and struggles on to the turnbuckle, hitting a corkscrew moonsault and leaves Emma vulnerable to the three count. Stephanie grows restless after this match, wandering the halls and only catching a few minutes of the latest match- Enzo Amore vs DJ Z. Both men are slick with insults and verbal wordplay, but when they're in the ring, it's clear the edge goes towards Zema, with his twelve years of ring know-how and skills, while Enzo is still relatively new to the whole game. And without Cass, a good half of his offense is impossible so it's no huge surprise when Zema defeats him with a 450 splash that makes even Stephanie grimace.

She's found her way back to the curtain where wrestlers come and go before and after matches, watching as Cass prepares for his match, which is next, just to forget taping up his wrists and whatever else as Enzo staggers backstage, gripping his ribs and looking truly pinched and unhappy. The tag partners share a moment, Cass hugging him and ruffling his hair, before pulling away and going out to compete in a match against Kalisto and Texano. He loses too, Texano walking away with this particular victory after using his smarts to eject Cass from the ring and finish off Kalisto quickly enough, and Stephanie rolls her eyes, unsurprised.

The next few matches pass by in a blur for her as Delirious defeats Dragon Azteca Jr, Tyrus defeats Goto, and Kevin Owens succeeds in a triple threat against Kushida and Roman Reigns, clearly fueled by all of the boos and anger aimed at the current World Heavyweight Champion. Rey Mysterio defeats AJ Styles and Stephania huffs at the thought of yet another failure aimed at the WWE. Next up is a tag match and she watches with some intrigues as Jushin Thunder Liger and Cesaro sit in the corner and try to make a quick game plan before their opponents could come out. As if summoned, Devon Dudley and Bobby Roode make their way to the ring, the four men trying to feel things out, how best to make things work. It's a rough match and sometimes Stephanie is sure that the WWE guys won't succeed, and her worry is confirmed when Devon throws Liger over the ropes towards the fan before, which hads to the anger she always had to deak with. "What's one more?" she grouses, throwing it onto the pile.

The main event is a five man elimination match and Stephanie grimaces, listening to the ref's directions as Ryback, Matt Hardy, Apollo Crews, Aiden English and Bubba Dudley wander the ring, spitting anger and everything going wrong makes them all just a bit more desperate, more angry and more rough and... It all crashes together into a disturbing match, the five men pounding at each other, hitting the rare desperation, high flying move to try to speed alnog eliminations. Apollo is the first out, Bubba and Ryback working together... just for Matt to run up and tip them both over the top, only succeeding at getting rid of Ryback, who rages at ringside before finally leaving. Matt is next, caught wrong by a high knee from , cursing him own luck at being tipped over the top by a laughing smug Bubba Ray Dudley.

He, however, is next to go and almost thinks he could've had the too, if not for Aiden English sneaking up behind him and striking him with a hard forearm to the back of the head, causing him to crumple over the top rope and land with a heavy thump to the outside. Ignoring the crowd's boos and muffled cheers, Aiden holds his arm up in victory and smirks around at the arena as he realizes. He now has two options, which means out of all of them, he's one of the few who is doing better than most at this Team Work cycle.

Stephanie sighs, relieved that it's over for the week, and finally heads for the exit, to start the substantial journey back home to be with her daughters and perhaps try to comfort her husband from the usual 'post match' blah he's suffering through.


	21. chapter 21

Stephanie grits her teeth. Planning on making her big return to Raw this week, along with booking this show, has left her tired, exasperated. She's not in the mood for any nonsense so she stays in her office, with the volume turned low, and watches to see how the show flows without her micromanaging everything from the curtain like she tends to do.

Big E starts the show off by defeating Jack Evans with a belly to belly slam after some back and forth that Jack eventually lost control of and couldn't regain. The next match is Kane vs Kazuchika Okada, Kane mocking the NJPW superstar by tilting a finger, causing a small pillar of flame to come up from the entrance ramp, slowly burning through the currency with Okada's face on them that rains from the ceiling. Okada and Gedo step carefully through the smoldering bills, gingerly making their way to the ring. Okada slowly shrugs out of his impressive full-lengthed coat before entering the ring.

He and Kane stare at each other intensely before the bell rings, Okada immediately trying to get the first shot. He tries also to keep some distance, not wanting to get caught by Kane's long arms, but the further away he is, the more his attempts at offense fail. So he slips in closer and lands a solid forearm to Kane's upperbody, rocking the man... or at least Okada had assumed, until Kane immediately responds with a solid punch to Okada's face that staggers him, causing Gedo to yell out in Japanese to him.

Growing more and more furious, Okada strains and focuses, landing a solid forearm to Kane's upper chest and throat area when he approaches once more, arm extended to try for a chokeslam. He then suplexes the staggering man, panting for breath when Kane actually doesn't rush to stand up. "Stay down!" he cries, booting him in the chest before heading up. Flying off, he closes his eyes as he hits a vicious elbow drop from the top rope, paling when he shifts over to find Kane _now_ sitting up. Cursing in Japanese, he scrambles up and tries to figure out his next move. He finally opts to slip under Kane and lift him, gritting his teeth against the weight, before dropping Kane down in a neckbreaker slam. His strength fails him then and he staggers back into the corner, closing his eyes.

It's only Gedo's shouts that wake him up and he forces his eyes open, moving aside just in time for Kane to hit the turnbuckle post. He's too slow after this, getting a solid punch to the face for his troubles. He can barely breathe, his ribs feeling like they're on fire after lifting Kane up, and Gedo is still screaming. Pride is the only thing that forces Okada to focus, kicking and struggling until he frees himself from Kane's attempt at a tombstone, hitting the mat with a strangled cry. Where the energy comes from, how the power flows through his bruised, exhausted body, he's not sure, but he doesn't even bother to pose before rushing forward and gripping Kane's wrist, sending him down hard with a Rainmaker. Not wanting to risk the victory, he forces Kane up once more and lunges forward, hitting him once more with the rough lariat, downing him for real this time.

Pinning Kane is a blur, Gedo slapping his back excitedly a muffled sensation in the background and Okada staggers, so very tired after this war with one of the more formidable American monsters.

Afterwards, Aerostar defeats Baron Corbin and Nick Jackson wins a six man match against Big Show, Ryback, Apollo Crews, Kofi Kingston and Trevor Lee, the crowd reacting as expected for one of the longest chains of superkicks ever. Matt Jackson continues the superkick party by defeating Aiden English next, celebrating with his brother on the ramp before going backstage.

Next, in one of the most baffling matches that Stephanie's ever booked in her many years in this business, Al Snow defeats R-Truth. A three team tag match starts next, Natalya and Paige competing against the teams of Becky and Sasha, and Summer and Maria. Summer looks digusted to be teamed up with Maria, her lips pressed tightly together as the match continues, Natalya and Sasha exchanging glows and submission holds for awhile. Things fall apart when Becky tags in, Sasha yelling at her.

Summer finds an opportunity and tags herself in after awhile, watching as Becky and Sasha drop to the mat below and start arguing in earnest. It seems to distract Natalya enough that Summer succeeds at spin kicking Natalya in the face, bitting a body scissors and transitioning into a pin... just to realize that Paige isn't trying to break it, Maria having snuck around the ring and pulled her off of the apron, squeeching at her for slapping her aferwards. Paige is quickly distracted from doing something worse to the woman when the bell rings, confirming that Summer and Maria's won. She laughs ecstatically as her hand is raised in success.

After a brutal battle where the crowd holds their breath, certain that either man could kill each other at any time, Kenny Omega defeats Kevin Owens after slamming him down and dazing him with a fisherman buster, the crowd buzzing over this impressive victory and what it might mean for Kenny's future in the contest.

The next match is a six man elimination match, Jay Lethal, Chris Jericho, AJ Styles, PJ Black, Dean Ambrose and Cesaro cluttering the ring. For a moment, Jay and PJ stand back and watch as Dean goes right for Jericho, the two men exchanging punches and insults. It's only when some space is forced between the two men that AJ acts, slamming his forearm into Jericho's upperbody, leave him in good position for Cesaro's sharpshooter. Dean then forces him back up and hits the Dirty Deeds before pinning him. From there, the match turns less personal, being simple a fight for power, for those points. To find themselves in the same position as Neville when he returns from his injury.

Dean eliminates PJ Black and Cesaro eliminates Jay Lethal only a few moments apart, their eyes locking as they realize they're now alone in the ring with AJ Styles. They brawl, mixing it between the three of them, before AJ takes Cesaro out with his forearm, trying to pin him. His and Dean's eyes lock, the lunatic fringe making no move to save the man when AJ pins him. Down to two and the two minute fight, fully aware of this fact. Neither can stand well, but finally, AJ staggers and slumps against the wall, brushing his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes. This is the opportunity Dean was waiting for, lunging forward and punching him deep into the turnbuckle post. He wants nothing more than to finish this match before Anderson and Gallows might show their faces, so eventually he pulls AJ out of the corner and kicks him hard, setting up for another Dirty Deeds.

AJ fights, trying to get free, but Dean pushes him down and kicks him in the head, forcing the matter. A simple three count and Dean walks away victorious, trying to remember to breathe, how it all feels better now- more normal.

Fenix defeats Kalisto, the crowd still awake and with things as Kushida then succeeds against Simon Gotch fairly quickly. This leaves plenty of time for the main event tag match, the crowd chanting along with Enzo Amore as he introduces himself and Big Cass for the first time as a tag team in Team Work. They feel lucky that they'd been able to team together after the singles match nightmares from the week prior, and more so when they see the thrown together team they're facing off against. Xavier Woods and NJPW's Naito. Enzo chuckles in disbelief, about to say something absolutely scathing against the both of them, when Xavier gets a microphone of his own.

"Excuse me," he says, clearing his throat obnoxiously. "I'm guessing you think you're going to win and both have one point in this little contest thing, hm?" Enzo and Cass are nodding, no doubt in their minds, when Xavier's laughter turns truly evil. "Sorry to wreck your dreams, but you're not only going to lose here tonight, word on the street is if you _did_ win, only the guy who does the pinning gets the point. So one of you would still be persona non grata in this contest." He smirks at the men before turning to his partner. "Come on, let's go."

Cass and Enzo exchange troubled glances before the bell rings and they have to start the match, Enzo starting off against Naito. Between the two of them, Naito and Xavier keep Enzo down, away from their corner, battering the man until he can barely move without grimacing in such intense pain that Cass can see it from across the ring. Cass paces back and forth, trying to cheer Enzo on, when finally he kicks free and lunges forward, tagging Cass before collapsing against the apron, half-watching as Cass dismantles both Xavier and Naito. He has Naito down outside, and Xavier, the legal man, in the ring, and quickly tags in Enzo, supporting him as always when Enzo drops down, his full weight drawing the oxygen out of Xavier's lungs.

Enzo hesitates, however, over pinning the man, biting his lip. Struggling onto his side, all he can think about is how stupid, how lame this actually is, but dammit... he'll always have another opportunity. He hopes. This fueling him, he struggles back to their corner and tags in a confused, worried looking Cass. "Take the pin," he hisses out, clinging to his midsection. "Go on, big man. Get that point. You deserve it."

Cass wants to argue, wants to question him further, but Xavier and Naito are both stirring so he scrambles over, he pins Xavier and holds his eyes closed until he and Cass are declared as winners. Cass immediately frees himself from the nagging referee and stumbles over to where Enzo is slumped over, helping him to sit up and ruffling his crazy hair. "You did it!"

"We did it," Cass corrects him, nudging at him with a bright grin that fades into uncertainty over what Enzo just sacrificed. "Are we ok?" When Enzo nods, he releases a breath. "Thank you, Enzo. You're the best tag partner a man could ask for." Enzo is clearly floundering, not sure what to say to some of this, and still achey from his extended time in the ring. Cass notices, however, and thankfully lets him off of the hook." Come on, let's go home."

"Yeah, let's," he sighs, leaning against Cass as they head out.


	22. chapter 22

"You can't _do_ that," Cass snaps, not even caring when Stephanie McMahon's eyes flash dangerously. "'Zo's concussed, he can't- you can't- are you serious right now?"

"Deadly," she says coolly. "It's not my fault if I book people in matches in advance and they get injured. Neville competed while injured, so did Matt Taven. Either Enzo wrestles or he loses his place in the contest completely..." She pauses, eyeing Cass appraisingly while his tag partner sits behind them, holding his hands over his head and gritting his teeth at the bright lights overhead, the echoing sound of the crowd audible through the thin walls. "Unless you want to take both matches on, yours and his."

"Wha'-? He can't do that," Enzo snaps, _this_ attracting his attention over the pounding in his head, but Cass drops a hand gently on his shoulder and faces the boss' daughter, ignoring the scandalized sputters from the injured man behind him.

"If I do that, and win, will Enzo still get the point?" Just the week prior, they'd learned that in tag team matches, only the person doing the pinning will get the point. Enzo had given his chance at a point up to Cass, a nice, amazing sacrifice that had ate at Cass ever since. If he could do this for Enzo, then... the weeks that he has to spend without his best friend on the road after he returns to Florida will be worth it.

Stephanie mulls it over. "It's highly unorthodox, but I suppose it's only fair." She smirks at them. "Let's go see who your first opponent is then, Big Cass."

Obliging her, he walks to the ring and waits, eyes flickering from the buzzing crowd to the entrance ramp, waiting. When Cage, from Lucha Underground, makes his way out, Cass pales, unable to imagine Enzo being able to easily handle this guy even if he was at 100%. The anger at Stephanie willingly wanting to put his best friend against his monster while he was still in so much pain and could barely keep his eyes open unless the lights were dulled drowns him and Cass lets it fuel him as he takes every bit of offense that Cage has to offer until finally snagging him, his significant height the advantage he needs. "For Enzo," he mutters to himself before slamming Cage over his head, the adrenaline rush that the East River Crossing always gave him a sweet reprieve from the emotional turmoil he'd been in since seeing his tag partner go down and not get up barely twenty-four hours ago.

Making his way backstage, he ignores everyone and returns to the locker room he'd left Enzo in, not surprised to find him laying alone, the lights dimmed. Lips twitching upwards, Cass sinks down onto his knees and rests a hand on Enzo's forehead, stroking lightly. "I won that point for you, 'Zo," he says softly. "Now all ya gotta do is get better and come back, win a couple for ya'self. Then we'll have a real friendly competition to see who gets there first, yeah?"

Next is a fifteen man battle royal, Sami Zayn, Drew Galloway, Luke Gallows, Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Michael Elgin, Jay Briscoe, Karl Anderson, Honma, Kalisto, Baron Corbin, Miz, Mark Briscoe, Moose and Crazzy Steve all quickly filling up the ring. It's hard to keep track of everything going on, the smaller, faster guys doing what they can to rid the ring of the larger, more menacing competitors, and it's almost funny to watch as Kalisto is taken out quickly by Baron Corbin, who gets his comeuppance by Luke Gallows, but he doesn't get to enjoy anymore of the madness as that ridiculous magnetism he has with Sami Zayn kicks in and the two of them lunge at each other, exchanging punches and insults as the others continue to fight for dominance around them.

When Gallows had gotten kicked out and by who, Owens isn't sure, but he gains the upperhand and slings Sami out to join him, tossing Crazzy Steve out for good measure as well. He turns in time to see Elgin take out Miz, just for Moose to shouldercheck Elgin out next. An unsuspecting Jay Briscoe gets kicked out by his brother next, Mark smiling innocently and waving at him before turning back to the action, Jay cursing before storming back up the ramp. Cesaro essentially superswings Honma out of the ring, the man flailing comically before hitting the mat with a "oomph!" that's audible all the way up to the ring.

Moose then kicks Mark Briscoe out, and the remaining four men work together to push the monsterous man out of the ring shortly afterwards, Kevin turning just in time to lock eyes with Cesaro, Galloway and Moose. They sneer at each other, circling menacingly before Cesaro cracks his neck and wades in like always, exchanging strikes and kicks with everyone in reach. This strategy fails, however, when Drew hits him with a forearm shiver that knocks him out and leaves him open to a solid superkick from Kevin, sending him clean out of the ring.

Kevin circles, watches while Moose and Galloway fight, before taking his opportunity. It could backfire, he knows. He could try to clock them and end up getting thrown over the ropes himself, but no. His strategy works perfectly. They get taken up and over and he stands above them, smirking as he's declared the victor.

Michael Bennett defeats Dragon Azteca Jr next, and Natalya succeeds in a triple threat against TNA's Rosemary and Charlotte. After Apollo Crews defeats Abyss, Cass finds himself in the ring once more, looking tired and a bit beat down- the last 36 hours of his life has been such a roller coaster of emotions, he's amazed he's standing at all. He worries about who Stephanie will force him to face off against this time, but thankfully it's Tanahashi from NJPW. Still a formidable opponent, of course, but at least not as large or domineering as Cage. It's an interesting dynamic, Cass thinks, Tanahashi having a lot more experience in the ring, not to mention the last day has been awful for Cass while Tanahashi is fresh and ready for a fight. Even so, Cass' determination wins out and he snags Tanahashi in mid-air from a high-fly flow, slamming him down to the mat thoughtlessly. The pin afterwards, the everything, was simply automatic, he was barely thinking by this point.

When he walks backstage this time, it's to an Enzo who is awake, if a little groggy. "Guess we both got points this week, huh?" he asks sleepily, leaning up to hug Cass.

"Yeah, guess we did," Cass sighs against his hair, closing his eyes and not allowing himself to think- again- about how differently things could've gone. In a blink of an eye...

Back in the ring, Dean defeats Rey Mysterio after some complicated back and forth, taking him out with a forearm when Mysterio was trying to hit him with a 619. As the audience whispers and cheers or boos, an elimination chamber is slowly eased from the ceiling and put into position around the ring. Once set up, Ziggler and Puma face off in the ring while AJ Styles, Zack Ryder, Roman Reigns and Bram are all put into the pods surrounding the ring.

Puma is interesting to fight against, a new challenge from Lucha Underground, and Dolph revels in the opportunity. They exchange punches and a few experimental moves, about to get into more intense move attempts, when the first pod opens and Zack comes out, immediately getting hooked under the arm by both of them and sent sprawling onto the mat. "Are you serious, bro!?" he yells, causing to Dolph to chuckle as he scrambles to his feet and joins the fray. Time's ticking away and the fourth is about to join them, so Dolph and Zack exchange glances, communicating in ways only long-time friends can, immediately double teaming Puma.

Puma loses after Dolph and Zack hit their finishers at the same time, Dolph whipping him back with a hand around his jaw while Zack hooks a leg around his arm and sends him sweeping down, the double force of the move leaving him winded and unable to move long enough for Dolph to pin him. They succeed just in time because Bram enters them, sneering at them both. He easily takes Zack out of the equation, if only temporarily, with a vicious, teeth rattling clothesline, but before he could do something worse, Dolph grabs him... just to get slung around in a lifting DDT, quickly pinned and eliminated.

Zack is gone next, leaving Bram to wait for Roman or AJ to be released from their respective pods. Roman is left out a minute later, but he's just as ready to fight as Bram is, and the two men exchange punches before one snags Roman just right in the mouth, causing him to bleed and making him see red all at once. The superman punch that follows zings just right and Bram is down on his feet, leaving him open to a quick spear that Roman then pins and eliminates him off of.

Roman has his back turned, unconcerned, as AJ Styles gets released from his pod, trying to wipe the blood from his busted lip... when he turns around just in time to catch AJ as he attempts another Phenomenal Forearm, slamming him down to the mat like he's little more than a gnat. AJ groans and writhes at Roman's feet as the fans boo and hiss, finally struggling up just to get hit with a punch. He staggers but regains, punching Roman back, and then it's on. The last two competitors in the elimination chamber brawls, hitting each other against the chains, the pods, anything and everything in reach the people before them didn't have the opportunity to use.

Roman gets the upperhand at one point, setting up again for the Superman Punch, when AJ course corrects and catches him with a pele kick, leaving Roman staggered and vulnerable. AJ lunges for the ropes and immediately hits the Phenomenal forearm, sending Roman crashing down and pinning him. When AJ gets the three count, he laughs and raises his arms in victory, relieved that it's over. That he'd survived. _Finally._ He'd won clean, without help or any kind of shenanigans.

He smiles.


	23. chapter 23

Things are going well with Shane, Stephanie thinks. Running Raw with him, all of that. It makes it easier to turn her focus onto Team Work every week. Although, with the inclusion of Lucha Underground competitors, things keep getting more and more suspicious. Such as the first match she books, something that looked simple enough until she'd watched a recent episode of Lucha Underground to scope out who she may be inviting into WWE halls at some point, her lips immediately tightening into a horrified frown.

Sinestro de la Muerte is a murderer among the walls of the temple, but he has the first match this night. Against Jimmy Uso. How it happens, no one's entirely sure, but Jimmy actually holds on, eakes out the win and gets the hell out of dodge before Muerte's rage is brought to the forefront. Bram defeats Luke Gallows next, in a rough, brutal match with a lot of back and forth that ultimately ends in a Brighter Side of Suffering that leaves Gallows down for the three count and beyond.

The next match sees Tyler Breeze coming to the ring, followed by Moose as the crowd chants his name in time with his theme music. Moose easily manhandles Breeze with slams and forearm shivers and it's pretty clear he's going to win, the crowd waiting expectantly for that final, bone-jarring conclusion, but all it takes is one mistake, Tyler coming to in time to wiggle free and hit the mat, punching Moose until he gets enough space between them. The momentum then stays with Tyler and holds until he hits the Beauty Shot, which dazes Moose and leaves him vulnerable to a pin and three count.

Big E comes out the victor next in a triple threat match against Hanson and Lucha Underground's Cage, followed by Naito successfully defeating Dolph Ziggler and posing smugly afterwards as the crowd booed his win.

Sexy Star makes her way to the ring next, a small smile curving up her lips as she leans against the top turnbuckle pad and watches as her opponents make their way to the ring for the upcoming fatal four way. Natalya merely smirks at her, Becky intrigued by wrestling the tough luchadora, but it's Emma who actually tries to approach Star, looking like she wants to push her off of the top rope. Star intercepts her, however, dropkicking her from the middle rope and sending her sprawling. Once Emma's up, the referee quickly starts the match, skittering back as the four women go at it. Emma and Star immediately begin tearing at each other, which leaves Natalya and Becky to lock up and go through the paces of the match more sedately.

It's only when the Emma and Star's fight bleeds in between Natalya and Becky that they actually react, each grabbing a handful of hair and sending them both to the outside. They also see the results of their actions, Emma struggling to get back to her feet while Star lays there, dazed, before Becky turns and clotheslines Natalya down, struggling to wrench her arm back and lock in an armbar. Natalya, however, fights free with a kick to Becky's head and resumes kneeing and kicking her before lifting her up and suplexing her back down on the outside, Emma and Star continuing to brawl, barely paying attention to what's going on inside of the ring as Star slings Emma into the steel steps and begins to stomp her down. Natalya looks out at them at one point before turning back just to receive a knee to the face.

She goes down hard, in shock, before Becky lifts her up and pushes her towards the turnbuckles, strong arming her to the middle for a Beckyplex that downs her long enough for the pen. Emma and Star, undisturbed by the bell marking the conclusion of the match, continuing to brawl until referees come out to separate them.

Once things at ringside have calmed down, ten wrestlers- Darren Young, Dalton Castle, Bobby Fish, Tanga Loa, Toma Tonga, Rusev, Karl Anderson, Jushin Thunder LIger, Nick Jackson and Cheeseburger make their way to the ring for a ten man battle royal. After using his skills and cunning to out last the other nine men, Fish walks out the winner of the ROH/NJPW heavy match, laughing as the Karl Anderson and Darren Young trudge back to the back, angry and bitter at being so close.

Titus O'Neil then defeats Mack, and Lashley takes out Xavier Woods within a matter of minutes, leaving him motionless in the ring before making his way backstage. The bad night for War Machine continues as Apollo Crews defeats Rowe, his grin only growing as he walks up the ramp, slapping hands with fans on either side. The next match sees Kofi Kingston tag team with Abyss against Simon Gotch and Matt Jackson, none of the four exactly enjoying any of this, but unable to do anything about it. Abyss, maddened from his time with Crazy Steve and Rosemary, quickly grows impatient with the match and grips Kofi around the throat when he tags himself in, lifting the man up. "I am not your partner," he spits in Kofi's face before slamming him to the side and leaving the ring. Simon Gotch scrambles, taking the opportunity and pinning him.

The audience is still whispering about _that_ when money clinks, and Okada makes his way slowly to the ring, posing proudly at the top of the ramp. His opponent is Jey Uso and he seems undisturbed as he joins him in the ring. They lock up as soon as the bell rings, Okada slipping away and punching him hard in the face, causing Jey to grit his teeth at him. Okada laughs and leans against the ropes, nothing but ego and confidence as Jey moves to dropkick him in the face. He sidesteps and smirks, kicking Jey in the face before gripping him and throwing him backwards in a release suplex. Jey struggles, he does, but Okada is on his game, determined to see this through. It just takes one misstep, Jey trying and failing at a top rope move, getting caught easily in the Rainmaker as he hits thin air where Kazuchika had once been standing, Okada's cockiness only growing as he pins him.

The main event is a five man match, only WWE guys that Stephanie had decided on since the earlier battle royal had been so ROH and NJPW dominated. Not to mention that the tension in the back is enough to drown in and she feels like having some fun with it. So, Cass vs AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns vs Baron Corbin vs Aiden English begins, the five men glowering at each other before Cass and English go at each other immediately, AJ and Roman not far behind. Corbin watches the four men brutalize each other, for pride or for the defense of injured tag partners, what have you, before he lunges forward and clotheslines both AJ and Roman, quickly turning to do the same to English and Cass, just to miss and get thrown clear out of the ring by an on-fire Cass, still frustrated over Enzo's injury and everything that's transpired since. Gotch winning earlier had only made Cass' anger that much worse.

It's this that causes him to fumble, fall backwards out of the ring when Baron grabs the top rope as he's attempting to set up his boot. He hits hard but still responds when Corbin attacks, unaware that this leaves Roman, AJ Styles and English in the ring. AJ eats a superman punch while attempting to hit a phenomenal forearm on Reigns, who is abruptly thrown out of the ring by Baron Corbin, who seems to have tired of Cass on the other side. Unfortunately for him, Cass isn't done and takes him down with the boot that he'd missed earlier on English, leaning over him while spitting insults... just to freeze when the bell rings. He looks up in horror to find Aiden English standing tall and proud, successfully pinning AJ Styles and claiming another point after hitting a sitout side slam on him. "Nah!" Cass groans out, angry and gritting his teeth at the fact that he'd failed. That again, the Vaudevillians had walked out winners. "Dammit!"

He watches as English leaves jauntily, unable to stop the feeling that he's just been failing Enzo left right and center since the night he'd gone down with the concussion.


	24. chapter 24

Aiden English is smug on a good day. Right now, though, he's on top of the world. Number one contendership for the tag belts, not having to listen to Enzo Amore's obnoxious yammering anymore... soon to be defeating the TNA world champion. He smirks as he looks across the ring at Drew Galloway, his lips twisting into an awful looking sneer. He waits for the bell to ring before lunging forward to meet the tall Scottish man, but Drew has him almost from jump, kicking and punching and just generally holding him down before hitting him with the Future Shock and pinning him as easily as breathing.

English blinks up at the lights before groaning, realizing that it was over. His smugness leaves him cold and bitter as he tries to ignore Gotch's agitated voice in his head reiterating everything he'd done wrong in the disgustingly short match.

The next match sees Apollo Crews coming to the ring, smiling and interacting with the fans. It's the exact opposite of Ethan Carter III's focused, intense walk down the ramp, staring up at him. The match is more than Ethan expects after an entrance like that, Apollo holding his own and even getting Ethan down in a pin after one of his jumping clotheslines, but he quickly shoots out of it and rebounds, finally grabbing Apollo under the arms and hitting his 1 Percenter, dazing the young man just enough for a pin. "Someone should _not_ smile that much!" Ethan exclaims to the crowd, who laughs and cheers for his win. "It's not natural," he mumbles to himself before escaping backstage, not wanting to see if Apollo is smiling even _now,_ in defeat.

Prince Puma continues the show by defeating Sin Cara and Mahabali Shera in a triple threat match, and Rusev all but destroys Dragon Azteca Jr., locking in the accolade and forcing him back until the referee fights to break the hold, Lana finally ordering Rusev to let go.

The audience seems troubled by that sight, barely blinking when R-Truth comes out, dancing and rapping and trying to get them to re-invest in the matches although their minds are still with the human suffering they'd just witnessed. He gains some interest towards the end of his shtick, and more so when Joey Ryan comes out to the ring, dressed sleezily, and posing suggestively against the ropes while Truth watches him in disgusted curiosity. The match itself is no technical classic, but it works in calming the crowd down, helping them to relax and even laugh a little as Truth and Joey stop exchanging punches to taunt each other with their various poses and dance moves. Eventually Joey locks in an armlock and bodyscissors Truth until he gives up, not wanting to risk broken arm or ribs.

After a brutal back and forth, Dana Brooke's inexperience comes back to bite her and she loses to Paige, knocked loopy by the Paige Turner. Abyss then sweeps a gauntlet, defeating Baron Corbin, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, D-Von Dudley and Rey Mysterio.

Backstage, Cass is pacing around, his lips twisting in annoyance. He still feels poorly about everything. Defeating Curtis Axel on Main Event hadn't done much for his mood, especially while watching the Vaudevillians succeeding again and again and again against the New Day, making it look more likely that they may walk out tag team champions after Extreme Rules... He grits his teeth and considers bailing despite his match coming up soon when his phone rings. He freezes and tilts his head, reaching out for it. "'Lo?"

"How you doin'?" It's Enzo, of course it's Enzo, and Cass laughs a little brokenly. "Whatcha doin', Cass?"

"Waitin' backstage for my match to start," he says, not bothering to admit that he wants to leave, just forget it all. Take his name out of this Team Work thing and just go back to the main roster and wait, and hope that there's still a chance for 'em to throw their hats in the ring for a tag title opportunity after Extreme Rules.

"Uh huh. What's wrong, man? Ya been off all week." 'Zo knows. Of course 'Zo knows, he knows Cass better than Cass knows himself, he thinks.

"Nothin' wrong, man. Just thinkin'."

"About?"

"Failure." It slips out before he can think it through, his lips parting as his face pales. "Ya know, I-"

"You're not a failure, Cass," Enzo says tensely, and Cass can imagine the dark look in his wide, blue eyes. "My injury wasn't your fault, nothin' that's happened since is. What're you talkin' about? 'N' don't tell me you weren't talkin' about yourself. I could tell by the tone of ya voice." Cass falls silent and Enzo releases a breath. "You've been extra guilty for a good week now, man. What's goin' on?"

"Vaudevillians keep winnin' and I can't do anythin' about it," he sighs. "I wanna get revenge so bad, but I can't touch 'em while they're #1 contenders, the McMahons won't lemme..."

Enzo listens quietly, then stays silent for a little longer. "Cass, when I come back, they're gonna get theirs. This is your time, I want you to focus on yourself, alright? Your matches, your goals. Soon as I'm cleared, we'll take out the Vaudevillians together. But for now, go out there'n'kick some ass for me, since I can't. Yeah? Get all'a those points that you can."

Cass nods, hearing the resolve in his partner's voice and knowing he means it. "Kay, 'Zo. I'll be waitin' for that moment." Hanging up, he goes out to the ring and makes fast work out of Crazzy Steve.

The main event of the night sees The Miz vs Kevin Owens vs Tyler Breeze vs Bubba Dudley, the four men brawling making it hard to keep track of who's who in the ring. Miz throws Breeze out of the ring, turning to watch as Bubba and Kevin exchange insults and general gibberish until Mike goes to involve himself in it just for Breeze to recover and fly back into the ring, hitting Miz across the face with his boot, putting him down hard. Immediately, Bubba and Kevin start exchanging punches and kicks, as if waiting for a cue, and they all join in, Tyler and Mike nearly knocking the other two over as they fight for dominance.

Mike gasps for air after Breeze kicks him again, doubling over just to get sent clean out of the ring. Breeze makes an angry, impatient face and goes out after him, intending to bring him back into the ring, just to get knee'd in the ribs and sent face down into the steel steps. He recovers, somehow, and he and Mike continue to fight on the outside, unaware as Kevin gets the upperhand against Bubba Dudley, grabbing him and popup powerbombing him hard into the mat. The pin that follows is rough and fast and Bubba fails to kick out. All Miz and Tyler can do is gape after the bell rings, the match over and Kevin already rolling out of the ring to safety.

"That belt is coming home this Sunday!" Owens declares with a piercing ferocity, pointing at Mike on his way backstage.


	25. chapter 25

After a PPV, everything is quiet. Calm. Full of wrestlers decompressing, trying to re-sort their career priorities. It always makes for an interesting time to hold a Team Work event, Stephanie wandering around as the show begins. She's slowly adjusting to work with Shane instead of HHH, his much calmer personality meshing well with her type A personality. Together, they're getting things done and she almost thinks Raw is becoming fun again. Which makes Team Work fun on a different level.

She tilts her head and watches as Tyler Breeze defeats Lucha Underground's Daga with a lucky Beauty Shot that nails him just right. The next match is a six man match and she stifles her laughter behind her fist as Big E, Luke Gallows and Zack Ryder come out to the ring, the thrown together team staring at each other in disbelief... before their opponents slowly make their way down as well- Roman Reigns, Jimmy Uso and Dean Ambrose. Zack looks like he's swallowed a swarm of bugs and the other two don't look much better, the three of them unable to resist Roman Reigns and his so-called family. Stephanie _almost_ feels bad as Jimmy Uso gets the pin on Zack Ryder after a few minutes of back and forth that ends with a splash after one of Roman's spears, quickly moving to celebrate with Roman and Dean.

Following this is something Stephanie had considered implementing before but never finding the time or interest in it. _Beat the clock._ A simple enough premise, but not so much when there are five different wrestling companies to consider. Even so, she had gone for it tonight. The first match in the series has DJ Z facing off with Lucha Undergound's Killshot, and it's impossible to keep track of the men as they alternate between brawling in the middle of the ring and attempting high risk moves off of the top rope, sometimes doing both at the same time. Everything that DJZ attempts is eventually for naught as Killshot hits a 450 splash on him, downing him for the three count and successfully winning at a time of 6:23.

The next is a gauntlet match, Dolph Ziggler standing rigidly as he waits for his first opponent to make their way to the ring. Karl Anderson is formidable enough but he still loses to Ziggler after getting caught in a Zigzag. Baron Corbin loses in similar fashion, his win the night before negated, and Apollo Crews also falls short to Ziggler's angry determination. Unfortunately, all of this is railroaded as Cass, fueled by his own just motivations, slams Dolph to the mat and then elbows him almost clear through it before the three count.

The second beat the clock challenge shows Michael Bennett defeat Jey Uso in 5:34 and Stephanie hums curiously, her eyes locked on Jeff Hardy as he fights hard against Kofi Kingston and eventually walks out the victor. A women's match is next, Charlotte leaning against the ropes and watching impassively as Dana Brooke taunts and belittles TNA's Sienna, the two of them easily pummeling the woman until she can barely move, much less defend herself or kick out. From there, getting a three count is merely elementary at this point, Charlotte nodding in some degree of acknowledgement to Dana for her role in all of this.

Third round of the Beat the Clock match sees Eddie Edwards beat Epico in 3:48, the Shining Star sputtering and complaining the entire way backstage and well past Stephanie, who smirks and shakes her head as she listens to him. Jack Swagger then defeats Xavier Woods, Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and Sami Zayn in a heated five man match that sees Sami taken out early and Del RIo and Rusev's lingering problems boil over, leaving them brawling on the outside long enough for Swagger to lock in the Patroit Lock and tap Xavier out.

In the fourth Beat the Clock challenge, Chavo Guerrero tries to keep up with Titus O'Neil's brawling style but he fails, quickly laid out and pinned. Titus wins at 2:49, which leaves Stephanie pretty sure how this whole thing is going to go. But she keeps it to herself, not wanting to wreck expectations. Next is a triple threat match with Miz facing off against Fandango and Primo. The Shining Stars' bad luck only continues as, after Fandango and Primo double team Miz out of the ring, splashing him unceremonously onto the floor, Fandango kicks Primo solidly in the face and pins him.

The main event that night is the fifth and final Beat the Clock challenge match and Kevin Owens comes out first to a split crowd, some cheering him out of loyalty and some booing him for plain dislike and hatred. He sneers at them all, entering the ring and leaning against the turnbuckle post as _Trouble Trouble Trouble_ hits and Ethan Carter III walks to the ring, staring at him. It's a vicious sort of brawl with a lot of punches and body shots that leave both men struggling to find an advantage, both close to even against the other. After rushing Owens into a corner, Ethan hits the EC3 Splash and laughs as Kevin flops forward, gripping his midsection with gritted teeth. He's setting up for a dropkick when Kevin recovers, grips him under the body and tries to surprise him with a popup powerbomb when Ethan hits him solidly in the face with a knee, dislodging his grip enough that Ethan can wiggle free, hit the mat.

He's just smashed his forearm along the bridge of Owens' nose, sending him staggering back once more, when the larger athlete recovers and superkicks him, trying once more for the pop up powerbomb. This time he hits, jarring Ethan against the mat with all of his strength, but it's too late- time is up before he can struggle over into a pin, and the bell is rung. Titus O'Neil is declared the victor and Ethan and Kevin glare at each other in frustration and disappointment at the loss of yet another point.


	26. chapter 26

So much is happening in the wrestling world now, Stephanie can barely keep her mind wrapped around it all. Smackdown going live, her and Shane running either it or Smackdown, reinstating the brand draft and what that might mean for Team Work. There's a lot to figure out, but first she needs to get through this week. So she does, loses herself in the mundane of it all, the signing off on matches, the scheduling referees, the everything else required to make the show go off as well as it can.

The first match of the night sees Kenny Omega facing off with Johnny Mundo, neither of them looking that thrilled to see the other. Kenny sneers as Mundo wanders away from him, looking unimpressed as he brushes his hair back over his shoulders. Finally Kenny tires of the cat and mouse game and punches at John, missing a few blows before hitting one square in his jaw, rocking him back. Mundo lunges forward and kicks Kenny hard in the side, winding him with a jab to the chest before kneeing him hard in the face. They both stagger back, eyeing each other, before lunging forward and going for it again- Kenny hits a running knee strike, John lands a backflip kick before running forward and striking him in the head with his knee, sending Kenny crumpling down to the mat.

John attempts The End of the World from there, but Omega rolls away and sweeps John's legs out from under him before rushing into position for an enziguiri, just to get snagged in midair with a spear that takes whatever oxygen's left in his body. He kicks out at two, however, and both men roll away to reset, try again. John smirks, the very vision of smugness, and storms forward just to get caught with a double knee strike to the head, that sends him down to the mat. He's still laying there, dazed, when Omega lifts him up, their limbs tangled up in a way that John can't figure out, before slamming him down back in a fisherman buster. When his mind clears, he realizes that he's lost. Slamming his fist against the mat, he rolls up and over, watching as Omega hesitates on the entrance ramp, smirking back at him.

Naito then wins a six man match against Sami Zayn, Jack Evans, Rusev, Trevor Lee and Tyler Breeze, followed up by Xavier Woods beating Al Snow after hitting a stomp facebreaker on him, downing him long enough for a three count.

Nick Jackson then finds himself in the what seems to be becoming a weekly gauntlet match, staring as his first opponent comes out. Zack Ryder puts up a good fight but eventually falls to repeated superkicks, the match changing drastically in tempo when Chris Sabin comes out and their natural antagonism for each other shines through, the two of them beating each other down until Nick hits a solid 450 splash, pinning Sabin.

He pales when he realizes his next opponent is his former Bullet Club leader, AJ Styles. The two of them stare at each other before AJ begins, forearms and kicks leaving Nick struggling to gain any kind of upperhand. AJ had never had an opportunity to get payback against him and the other members of the Bullet Club who had turned on him, and he makes up for it now in spades. Until, that is, Matt Jackson runs down and distracts him, leaves him open for Nick to squirm up and grab AJ, roll him up into a pin that's just enough to defeat him. AJ seems torn between staying and paying Nick back for _that_ or getting his hands on Matt and finally he runs out after the other Buck brother, leaving Nick behind to face Joey Ryan, who makes quick work of him and pins him after barely a minute, causing him to black out with a body scissored kimura lock.

After this, Kofi Kingston defeats Jeff Hardy after targetting his recently injured leg, and ACH beats Cesaro upon reversing out of his swing and kneeing him hard in the face. Paige wins a triple threat match against Natalya and Gail Kim after reversing Eat Defeat into a PTO, and Fandango pins Alex Shelley after a diving leg drop.

Despite AJ Styles' need for justice, it's not enough for him to help Chris Jericho, apparently, because when Jericho wrestles Matt Jackson, nothing untoward happens. Jericho eventually loses when Matt twists his codebreaker attempt into a wheelbarrow facebuster.

The next match has Kevin Owens coming out to the ring, a bland look on his face as he leans in the corner and waits, watching closing. PJ Black makes his way to the ring and Kevin's unimpressed gaze continues until the two men are across from each other, eyes locked. With a heavy sigh, Kevin pulls him up and out, walking towards him. "The man formerly known as Justin Gabriel, huh?" he snaps loud enough to be heard over the crowd. "Well, I can see why WWE let you go."

PJ's dark eyes flash as he lunges forward and grapples with Owens, just to get thrown back down. The cry of pain from Owens when PJ's lightning quick kick makes contact with the back of his thigh is worth it. "What the hell?!" he bellows out, lunging after PJ and failing to catch him as PJ's speed overwhelms Kevin's strength. For awhile. Until he goes up one too many times and gets snagged out of midair, thrown to the mat in a bone-rattling pop up powerbomb. Kevin performs a flawless moonsault off of the top next and digs his forearm into PJ's face. "See, I can do it too!" he screams at him before tangling him up in a pin that leaves PJ unable to move, much less breathe. The three count that comes is almost a relief as Kevin pushes PJ away and stands up, glaring out at the crowd in painful victory.

Bad blood from the year prior never quite forgotten, Alberto Del Rio defeats Cage with a rapid succession of kicks and stomps before drifting him into the armbar, wrenching back until even the large man can't help but to tap. Next, Dean Ambrose loses to Tanahashi's frog splash.

The main event starts next, the crowd getting to their feet when Cass comes out, Enzo dancing around him for the first time in weeks on this stage. He's not cleared to wrestle and, after watching Cass destroy the Dudleys for weeks, Stephanie's decided to put him to a bit of a more stenuous test. Enzo's protests are still echoing in Cass' ears and he can't deny that his friend's right, but there's not much that they can do about it, so he squares his shoulders and watches as Big E, The Miz and Baron Corbin come out to the ring for the 3-on-1 match that Stephanie had authorized. Big E seems to want to take it easy on him, but Miz and Corbin are like pitbulls after a steak, almost looking for a bit of weakness.

Enzo on the outside makes Cass nervous too because he's vulnerable out there, and Baron keeps looking out at him with an expression on his face that Cass doesn't like, constantly breaking away from Miz to take a swipe at the man to keep his focus on him. This leaves him open to further spine blows from Miz, who looks all the more eager to take him down. Big E does the bare minimum and only when his reluctant partners yell at him to help out, Cass able to catch his breath during their arguments and sideslam Baron down, kicking Miz in the face before eyeing Big E, who holds his hands up in supplication, allowing him to continue getting some offense in on the two downed men while Enzo urges the crowd to come alive for Cass.

Finally more of a one on one match with Big E, they exchange blows and Cass claps his hands together, ringing Big E's ears and forcing him to let go before he could try his belly to belly slam. Cass then hits the East River Crossing, followed by the Empire Elbow, leaving Big E vulnerable to a pin. As soon as the bell rings to prove Cass' success, he's leaning over the rope, watching Corbin and Miz's exit to ensure they don't do anything to Enzo on the other side. He relaxes when he senses his best friend rolling in behind him, getting to his feet and hugging him. "Knew ya could do it, big man!" he exclaims, slapping Cass on the chest before raising his hand in victory, the two of them standing side by side and taking in the crowd's reaction.

Cass sucks in a deep breath and then grins down at Enzo before tugging him closer and hugging him, burying his face in his wild hair. "Thanks, Zo," he mumbles, so relieved that he'd made it through the last month and that, next week, Enzo would be cleared and they could go back to doing what they do best- dominating the tag team scene on the mic and between the ropes. Sometimes at the same time.


	27. chapter 27

With Shane on vacation, this leaves Stephanie with even more on her plate. She's relieved when the matches are easy to throw together, the point system straight forward enough by now that it doesn't take much to update it with each match contested.

The night starts off with Karl Anderson defeating Jay Lethal after a rough back and forth match, that eventually sees The Club member snagging Jay with the Gun Stun as he attempts the springboard back for the Lethal Injection. Michael Bennett defeats Cesaro next, still a little off-balanced after being swung around for a good minute, but having enough werewithal to hit a sit out slam, which he shifts into a wrist lock until he catches his breath long enough to force Cesaro back to his feet and land the Divine Intervention, which to his relief is enough for the three count. After swatting away repeatedly attempts at risky offense off of the top rope, Bubba Ray Dudley lays Johnny Mundo out with a series of right hands, elbowing him in the head before going up himself and landing a senton that takes the last of the breath out of Johnny and leaves him open for the pin and three count. Bubba laughs and mocks the crowd as he makes his way backstage to a chorus of boos.

Jack Evans takes out Eli Drake next, his corkscrew moonsault impossible for Eli to kick out of, and then Stephanie shows her face. "So, one of the things most impressive now-a-days is how wrestling is embracing female wrestlers," she says. "So, I figured I would join along. I want to see how WWE's women fare against other company's women. So, ladies, if you would please..."

Sasha, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Gail Kim and Jade all enter ringside and Stephanie smiles at them. "Thank you. Now, we're going to have a three on two match. Natalya, Dana, and Sasha vs Jade and Gail." The crowd immediately buzzes, everyone knowing that Dana and Natalya do not get along, and Sasha is usually in things for herself, while Jade and Gail have worked together recently in TNA. The five women eye each other warily before getting into the ring, the bell alerting them that the match has started. Natalya and Jade start things off with a power struggle in the middle of the ring, Jade gritting her teeth and struggling against Natalya's strength, just to get her feet swiped out from under her. She curses before rolling back towards her corner, just to get caught by Dana, who had tagged herself in to Natalya's displeasure.

Dana throws Jade around like a ragdoll for awhile, her strength overwhelming whatever weaknesses she might have. Until Jade gets free, lands a solid kick right to Dana's skull, and scrambles for a tag, Gail quickly entering. Dana isn't prepared and takes more kicks, forearms, punches and whatever else Gail can think of to keep the larger woman down. It just takes a couple of solid hits, however, and Dana's free, disinterested in everything else as she dives forward and tags Sasha in. Sasha and Gail meet in the middle of the ring, brawling for dominance, when Sasha sweeps Gail over the top rope and then kicks her solidly in the back, sending her down to the floor before taunting Jade.

Jade glares at her before encouraging Gail to get up, rejoin the match, just to get tagged in as soon as Gail does. Sasha looks ready for the fight but, as soon as Jade snags Sasha by the arm and slings her back into the ropes, Dana reenters, not ready to give up after earlier. Jade now has her scouted, though, and dances away from her offense, landing kicks on every inch of her that she can reach until Dana screams in annoyance, just to receive another kick to the side of the head that levels her. Jade then goes up and hits a 450 splash, Gail rushing in to shield Jade from Natalya or Sasha should they try to break up the pin, but neither move, both seeming to accept the loss of the point at Dana's expense.

Following this, Robbie E defeats Jimmy Uso after reversing his splash attempt into a running cutter. The next match wakes the crowd up once more, however, as Michael Elgin enters the ring, shortly followed by Enzo Amore. His first match on Team Work since returning from his concussion, and it's _this._ Elgin isn't much taller than he is, but he's thick, and he's strong, and he's nothing to underestimate. Enzo holds his ground, however, careful not to show too much fear as he circles the other man. It's about as one sided as a person could imagine, Enzo's attempts to avoid Elgin, let him tire himself out, quickly falling flat as Elgin grips him and bodyslams him down, winding him. He instinctively turns towards Cass, just to remember when he can't spot him that, oh yeah, Cass isn't there- it's just a singles match...

He gulps for air and grits his teeth when Elgin grabs him, pulling him up by his hair, the referee rebuking him for it almost immediately. It's closeness, though, and Enzo shoots out with a kick, again and again until Elgin's leg locks up and he drops Enzo, trying to work out the cramp in his thigh. Enzo then scrambles and gets up in the corner, catching Elgin in the face with his knees. He's working solo here, he doubts this is going to work, but he repeats the process again, knees across the bridge of Elgin's nose staggering him. The third leaves him completely loopy and the fourth sends him to the mat, Enzo scrambling up and steadying himself while biting his lip. "Here goes nothin'," he thinks, missing Cass' support next to him keeping him from falling and then guiding him into position as he propells himself down onto Elgin's prone body.

The three count that follows feels like a dream and a revelation all at once and a million verses burst in Enzo's mind immediately, but Elgin is moving then, and there's a flash of brown in Enzo's peripheral and Cass suddenly appears, standing between him and the other man, and Enzo is yelling something- he's not even sure what right now, but Elgin growls at them and slowly retreats up the ramp as Cass turns and hugs Enzo tightly. "Y'alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he sighs, relieved that he'd won, that Cass had had his back, as always. "Thanks, man."

"Any time," Cass offers, running his fingers through Enzo's hair. Once Cass lets go of him, Enzo decides to go, because Cass' match is next and he doesn't want to be a liability in any way. Which is good because it ends up being an Elimination Chamber match, and Enzo couldn't have stayed out there anyway. Cass and Rusev are the first two people in the match, and it looks promising at first, the two men brawling back and forth while Dean Ambrose, Jimmy Uso, NJPW's Ibushi and Drew Galloway are stuck in the chambers.

But then Dean is released and he hits the ground running, striking both men with a double whacky line, Rusev's full weight landing on Cass and dazing him, Dean all but sitting on the Bulgarian to pin Cass. Dean and Rusev brawl for a few minutes until Drew Galloway is next out, helping Dean out against the brute until they manage to eliminate him following Drew's fallaway slam that leaves him motionless on the mat, possibly more confused that someone had so easily lifted him than anything else, Ibushi entering the ring and immediately beginning to brawl with Drew while Dean sucks in oxygen and waits for his best opportunity. It never comes as Jimmy enters the ring and immediately goes after Dean, causing Drew to get easily pinned after Ibushi hits a sitout powerbomb.

He _tries_ then to interject himself into Dean and Jimmy's fight but the two men continue to ignore him, just to get grabbed and slammed down hard to the mat. Dean pins him and then there were two, the men staring at each other before going at it full force- punches, kicks, forearms, knees to the midsection, bodyslams, splash attempts off of the top that ultimately miss, anything, everything. It's when Dean goes for Dirty Deeds that Jimmy plants his feet, sweeps Dean down and lands a splash, pinning him easily afterwards. "Sorry, brother," he pants as they digest the win, and the match's conclusion.

Afterwards, Colt Cabana and Naito walk out the victors against a steaming Okada and beat down Devon Dudley, Colt as grinning and cheerful as ever, even in the face of Naito's exasperation. Lucha Underground's Matanza makes fast work of Sami Zayn, Jessie Godderz overpowers PJ Black, and Son of Havoc wins a triple threat match against AJ Styles and Shibata.

The crowd starts to buzz all over again as the main event is heralded by Nakamura's entrance to the ring, the man still locked in his contorted pose against the ropes when Zack Ryder's music hits and the crowd reacts, some mocking, some cheering him. Zack looks wary, but he enters the ring and stares at Nakamura until the bell rings, the two men approaching each other. Nakamura strikes out with a kick that Zack evades, Nakamura laughing as Zack looks even more uncomfortable with this match, no one quite sure what Nakamura's capable of yet, his Japanese style alone enough to throw them all off of their game just long enough to lose.

Shaking his head, Zack refocuses and waits until Nakamura approaches to elbow him hard in the face. This staggers him and he grips his face, grinning at Zack in some sort of amused respect. He _winks_ at Zack then, confusing the broski, and when Zack meets him with a forearm, again, Nakamura seems more amused than actually wounded. The onslot that follows then is rough, Zack staggered after only a few kicks from Nakamura's bright shoes, but he's not done, Zack bent double as more and more blows rain down upon his prone body. Finally he makes it up once more when Nakamura is ordered to give him a minute by the ref. Zack responds by lunging forward and hitting him with a forearm, possibly dazing him for real for the first time all match.

Zack decides not to let this momentum go and slings Nakamura into the corner, hitting a forearm again and again until his legs give out and he sinks to the mat. Raising his fist, he counts out the "Woo! Woo! Woo!" and runs forward, swiping his boot against Nakamura's face, falling into position for the Rough Ryder... just to get caught with one of Nakamura's knees to the head once he does get up. They begin all over again with the strong style of offense that Nakamura's used to, that Zack can barely keep track of, but Nakamura tries one too many times. As he lunges forward, Zack props himself up on the top turnbuckle and meets him face first with his knees.

As Nakamura drops back, Zack sweeps his feet out from under him and heads up, landing a brutal El-Bro that shakes through Zack's form. He doubts that that's enough, though, and heads up once more, relieved to see that Nakamura isn't moving. It's risky, he's not confident in the move, but he flies into a 450 splash, holding his breath the entire way... and lands it solidly along Nakamura's midsection, winding them both but remaining in position long enough to hook his leg through the mind-numbing pain stabbing up his ribs... The three count is incredible and he gapes at the ref, unsure if he should believe it... but it's real, he'd won. He'd gotten points!

As he stands and raises his fist three times to the crowd, chanting Woo Woo Woo! with the crowd once more, he senses movement behind him and turns to find Nakamura on his feet once more, staring at him. He feels awkward, wondering if perhaps Nakamura will take this loss out on him, erase his victory from everyone else's mind and leave him broken and bloodied on the mat... but no, Nakamura slinks forward and smiles, his eyes crinkling so thoroughly that you couldn't actually see his pupils. "Congratulations, Zack," he offers falteringly, still getting used to speaking English more regularly. "Perhaps we can do it again some time."

Zack's face immediately lights up as Nakamura holds a hand out to him, Zack eagerly gripping it and shaking his hand. "Thank you, I would- it would be an honor," he agrees.

Nakamura nods with a soft laugh before rolling out of the ring to let Zack have this moment, uninterrupted.

Zack beams as he leans over the ropes and looks out over the crowd, considering how things are working out in his favor. "First Wrestlemania, now this... who knows, I might have a chance at winning this thing after all."


	28. chapter 28

It had been nice to have Raw to herself the week prior, Stephanie thinks, even with Teddy Long hanging around. Unfortunately, Shane had returned this week, and Kane was lurking, so she's happy to be back within the halls of the week's arena hosting Team Work. She stares down at the matches listed with an unimpressed grimace. "We don't do many gimmick matches," she tells the nearest tech. "We're going to change that this week, a little."

He looks nervous but nods, scurrying off to set up the matches for the night.

The first match of the night sees Naito defeating Chris Jericho after a lengthy back and forth bout, followed by an Ultimate X match. With NJPW's Takahashi, Kyle O'Reilly and Sin Cara preforming ridiculous high flying moves between attempts at snagging the X that would give them points, Sheamus and Baron Dax pick them off one at a time until Sin Cara snags Sheamus with a moonsault and Kyle successfully lands a dropkick from the top turnbuckle onto Dax, downing both of them and allowing both men to head up while Takahashi struggles to recover from an earlier Brogue Kick on the outside. They shimmy across the taut ropes crisscrossing the top of the ropes before exchanging blows and kicks, desperate to knock the other off. Sin Cara almost overbalances while trying to snag the X, and Kyle tries to take advantage but he shifts his weight just so and kicks Kyle in the upper shoulder, sending him tumbling over and allowing Sin Cara to grab the X and sprawl across the ropes, exhausted but pleased with his victory.

The next match Stephanie had personally set up, a triple threat match seeing James Storm vs Kenny King vs Rhett Titus. She smirks a little, tapping her chin. "Leave my husband and NXT and think you can get away with it... not on my watch..." It's amusing to watch, Storm really has no chance against the All Night Express, and Bobby Roode isn't there to help him anymore, so he's quickly lost under the offense of the tag team. After he's down with little chance of recovering any time soon, Kenny and Rhett debate before falling back on the tag team standard for making decisions... rock, paper, scissors. Kenny chooses rock, crushing Rhett's scissors, and easily pins Storm.

Alberto Del Rio then outlasts AJ Styles, Titus O'Neil, Dax Sutter, Dolph Ziggler and Rusev in an Elimination Chamber match, Cesaro defeats Goto, and Trevor Lee takes out Zack Ryder. Aerostar pins Jeff Hardy after a failed swanton bomb attempt, and EC3 gains a win against Karl Anderson. Next sees Kevin Owens come to the ring, followed by Pentagon Jr. The two men stare at each other before immediately exchanging blows. It's a brutal match, two men going at each other with lethal punches and forearms, kicks and strikes that leave a fair amount of the audience cringing away. Reversing most of each other's more impactful moves, both men grow frustrated and Kevin growls when his popup powerbomb is again reversed into a Fuijiwara armbar. He punches out of it, gets to his feet and knees Pentagon in the face, just to feel all sense of gravity leave him as the other man repeatedly gives as good as he gets before lifting Kevin up and hitting a piledriver that dazes him just long enough for the three count. There's nothing for Kevin to do but curse under his breath as he watches through double vision at his opponent kneeling in the ring in honor of his 'master'.

Following this is a five way elimination match that sees Drago the last man standing against Eddie Edwards, Abyss, Lashley and Basille Baracca. The next match sees Luke Gallows easily dispose of Crazzy Steve, King Cuerno succeeding against Baron Corbin and Dean Ambrose but ultimately failing against Fenix in a gauntlet match, and Johnny Mundo losing to Eli Drake.

The main event is another five way elimination match, but this time for women wrestlers. Ivelisse leans against the ropes, watchful and impatient, as Taya Valkyrie, Sienna, Gail Kim and Becky Lynch make their way to the ring afterwards. She immediately goes for Taya, while Sienna and Gail exchange strikes, leaving Becky on the outside, waiting for an opportunity to get involved in the fight. Ivelisse huffs as Taya tries to get her early with a swinging slide slam, pushing her away and hitting her with a roundhouse kick when she tries to advance again. She notices out of the corner of the eye as Gail hits a similar move to Sienna, but re-focuses just as Becky interjects and hits Taya with a forearm, immediately floored as Ivelisse changes her perspective and hits a wheelbarrow DDT on her, diving for a pin... just to get waylaid by Taya, Gail _and_ Sienna in an unnecessary show to keep the match going.

Ivelisse grunts and rolls out of the ring, holding her midsection as the four remaining women pair off and fight each other. Gail has just eat Eat Defeat on Taya while Becky twists Sienna's arm in an unfortunate angle when Ivelisse scrambles back into the ring and drags Becky off of Sienna, kneeing Gail in the head to get her off of Taya. "You don't get to win!" the Baddest Bitch in the Room screams before throwing Gail out of the ring, following her up with Sienna, who is still nursing her throbbing arm. Taya and Gail try to corner Ivelisse but a series of kicks later finds the woman the only one standing, glaring down at them both as they struggle to regain some sort of equilibrium.

Gail is the next to go out of the ring, Ivelisse kicking her under the bottom rope to reside with the other two. It's risky, she could easily just hit a powerbomb on Taya and end it, but that's never been her style. Especially when any of the three on the outside _could_ recover in time to ruin her pin attempt that would follow the move. So she runs the ropes, imagining Son of Havoc and Angelico's reactions as they watch her from... wherever they spend their time when they're not at the temple, using the forward motion to propel her over the top rope and into the three women clustered on the outside. Now that she thinks they're done for, she slides under the bottom rope and struggles to catch her breath, motioning to Taya in a "bring it" sort of way.

How Ivelisse manages it, she's not sure- she's hot, and sore, and breathing hard enough to pass out right then and there, but the adrenaline holds long enough for her to avoid a punch and hit her sunset flip powerbomb, grabbing Taya's nearest leg and holding on until the three count is achieved. She immediately flops over and struggles for a full breath, and another, and another, willing the dizziness away well enough that she can stand, that she can celebrate with an arm raised high.


	29. chapter 29

Stephanie has the week off, needing some time with her family after so many weeks of bickering with her brother. Team Work, she listens to reports of at home, relieved once the card is set and she doesn't have to do anything more than keep her daughters from throwing cookie dough in each other's hair before supper.

The show starts off with a weird, fast match between Sami Zayn and Toru Yano that Sami wins with a Heluva kick. After Lashley dismantles Cesaro, barely flinching when the Swiss tried to catch him in a Cesaro swing and responding by slamming him hard into the mat, Seth Rollins comes to the ring for the first time in Team Work history. The fans are eager for his match vs NJPW's Ibushi to begin, and neither men disappoint. It's hard hitting and quick, each spot having the fans holding their breath as brutal sounding punches are exchanged, warming up into kicks and harsh chops to the chest, before the two men begin moving on, trying harder offense, Ibushi seemingly determined to snag Seth in one of his many suplexes, just for Seth to wiggle free and kick him in the head almost every time. It's only when Seth gets a little too cocky that Ibushi scouts it, catches his leg and slings him onto his stomach, locking in the ankle lock.

Seth _screams,_ then. Something that has to be a mix of true pain and paranoia from his prior knee injury. Either way, it's guttural enough that the crowd falls silent immediately, watching in rapt horror as he struggles and writhes, trying to get to the ropes. Finally regaining some composure, he kicks back blindly with his good leg, again and again, until he snags Ibushi in the thigh, repeating it again and again until he's released from the brutal hold, collapsing onto his side and gripping his knee with sweat and maybe tears pouring down his face as he adjusts his gear, the knee brace he was advised to wear. He's gasping for air when he finally gets back to his feet, but there's a brittle anger in his eyes now, and Ibushi seems wary... but there's nothing for it, the two men approach and tie up, and Seth gains the upperhand, kicking and kneeing every inch of the other man he can reach.

Ibushi tries to roll out of the ring, just long enough to get a breather, but Seth grabs him by the back of the head and throws him into the mat, ignoring the ref's first couple of warnings before he releases him. Ibushi scrambles to his feet and Seth watches him with a certain kind of coldness in his gaze. He wasn't supposed to do this, Vince McMahon opposed the move himself, damn it, but sometimes... like Orton with the punt, you just had to do it. Besides, he still feels nauseous from the ankle lock and he knows if he had to do the pedigree, he'd probably throw up over everyone anyway. So instead, he waits, and he watches, and then he lunges, curb stomping Ibushi's head hard into the mat before rolling him up into a pin.

Tanahashi walks out the winner of a six man elimination match against Alberto Del Rio, Luke Gallows, Big E, Sheamus and Baron Corbin, followed by Jay Brisco defeating Aiden English and Eddie Edwards continuing his current streak of good luck by pinning Sin Cara after a particularly hard knee to the head while Sin Cara was attempting a top rope move. Pentagon Jr. makes quick work of R-Truth and Apollo Crews looks even more cheerful after winning over Ishii.

After Dean Ambrose defeats Mark Brisco, even his redneck kungfu not being enough to take down the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, the ring fills with a handful of female wrestlers for a battle royal. Paige, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Dana Brook all stare each other down, all possible alliances and friendships cast aside for now as they begin to brawl, struggling to weaken each other enough to throw someone over the top rope. Just so happens that Becky is the first to go, Charlotte struggling to get her over when Paige extracts herself from Dana and stumbles over, assisting enough to push the Irish woman over, Charlotte and her _almost_ sharing a moment as their former partner curses darkly and storms backstage. But Paige is the next to go over, Charlotte using the moment again to her advantage to sling her up and over.

It becomes a chain of eliminations then as Sasha sneaks up, kicks Charlotte hard in the midsection, and punches her hard enough to daze her on her feet, leaving her unbalanced and easy enough to scoop up and over the top. Dana, however, puts an end to this as she hits an enzuigiri, sending Sasha's head whipping back. While Sasha is struggling to recover, Dana locks in bodyscissors and rids her of as much oxygen as possible before forcing her back up and effortlessly slinging Sasha over the top rope and gaining her first point in the contest.

While the crowd boos this, Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeats AJ Styles with a sitout reverse piledriver, and the only thing that brings them back around slowly is Dalton Castle's showy entrance to the ring a few moments later. his boys on either side of him, fanning him off lazily as he prances to the ring. They ease his clothes off of him and reveal his gear before getting out of the ring, Simon Gotch now walking to the ring while snapping at the audience. Dalton's innovative offense has Gotch wheeling almost from the start, his various suplexes mixed in with headbutts and other face-damaging attacks leaves the man staggering, but it's when Dalton has Gotch pressed to the mat in a pinning predictament thanks to a bridging suplex that he hears it- his boys fussing at ringside, so he shifts his position just enough to see what's going on.

Aiden English, recovered enough from his earlier match, is at ringside, grabbing at Brent Tate's mask, yelling at him about being _manly_ , while Brandon tries to help his brother. Even after all of these months, Dalton is still sensitive towards anyone abusing his boys due to the many weeks he'd been without them thanks to Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser, so he breaks the hold before a three count could be administered and tries to go out to chase off the obnoxious man, just to feel himself grabbed from behind and suplexed back, his thoughts going too wide, his oxygen ridded from his body, and the three count hit. As Gotch leaves ringside, English laughing at his side, Dalton's boys scramble into the ring and kneel by him, both looking miserable and guilty at yet again being a distraction for him. He doesn't mind however, aware that there will be other matches, more opportunities down the line. Stroking their faces, he shakes his head. "Let's go, my boys," he says simply, smiling a little when they obey immediately.

Jack Swagger makes Roderick Strong tap to the ankle lock afterwards, and Crazzy Steve out-weirds Goldust from the start of their match, eventually defeating him as well. Jay Lethal escapes an elimination chamber successfully in a match against Rusev, Kofi Kingston, Kalisto and Karl Anderson, leading into the main event of Kevin Owens vs Abyss. Between his anger at losing Money in the Bank, and Abyss' re-found ability since teaming up with Crazzy Steve, the two men brawl all over the ring and sometimes outside of it as well, into turnbuckles, barricade walls, announce tables. Owens is winded and hurting from all that he's been through the last few weeks, when Abyss attempts a blackhole slam. Squirming out of it, Owens hits the mat and turns, only just grabbing him and spinning him around enough to immediately segue into the Pop Up Powerbomb, which allows him to pin and defeat Abyss. He's tired and he's hurting, but this little modicum of success is all he needs to find the strength to get up and do it again, and again, and again, until he has what he wants out of this business.


	30. chapter 30

Returned somewhat refreshed after her time away, Stephanie isn't _that_ surprised to find that Shane's decided to take the week off himself this turn. She smirks and settles in to book Team Work after Raw, comfortable in her solitude.

The show starts with Lucha Underground's Killshot defeating NJPW's Nagata in a bout so fast that it was hard to keep an eye on the men. The crowd remains on its feet as Enzo comes out, chanting his intro along with him eagerly. His opponent is NJPW's Kojima and he tries to stay confident even as the man stares him down, but his attempts at offense are swatted away or ignored at every turn. Kojima responds to his attempt at going high for a dive by meeting him with insanely painful chops to the chest on his way down that winds Enzo and leaves him struggling for any sort of oxygen to enter his body.

It's all downhill from there, Enzo unable to keep his head above water as Kojima hits him again and again, rights and lefts, finally going up and hitting an elbow drop. The cutter that follows is all but unneccessary at that point, Enzo limp under him as the three count is achieved.

Following this, Marti Bell defeats Alyson Kay and Mariposa in a triple threat, and Cesaro swings ACH into a stumbling kind of pin that miraculously works. Drew Galloways comes to the ring next, followed by Christopher Daniels, and the two men eye each other as they prepare for the brawl that's to come. A lock up in the middle of the ring turns into an intense exchange of blows, kicks and bodyslams as the match heats up, both men looking for that one momentarily weakness that would open one of them up to a resounding loss, though it seems far away at this point as they go blow for blow, neither faltering. Until, that is, Drew hits a solid boot to Daniels' face and sends him to the mat with a rough thud.

He struggles to breathe, rolling onto his side, just to get a knee to his shoulder for his troubles. He scrambles and hisses out painful curses, gripping his arm, as he tries to get back to his feet. When Drew barrels at him again, Christopher somehow finds the strength to plant his arms on the top turnbuckle and lift himself up, booting Drew hard in the face before dropping back to the mat and clotheslining him down before kicking him hard in the back, and the shoulders. "Stay down!" he screams at him before going up for the moonsault, beyond frustrated. He's sure he's got it before he feels himself being plucked out of midair, spun around and dropped down hard into a facebuster, leaving him unable to kick out to the three count that follows.

Kalisto takes out Jeff Hardy in a match that pretty much leaves the first contest of the night in the dust as the two highflyers do all they can to keep each other down long enough for a pin. Goldust defeats Kyle O'Reilly but his tag partner doesn't have the same kind of luck as Braxton Sutter succeeds against R-Truth a few minutes later. Dana Brooke holds strong in a triple threat match against Amber Gallows and ODB before the participants for a six man match comes out next.

Seth Rollins takes a breath, looking around at the ring as it slowly fills with his opponents. Michael Bennett, Sami Zayn, Ethan Carter the third, Marty the Moth and Bobby Fish. His choice is easy as he targets Sami, Bennett and EC3 going right after each other while Marty and Fish square off in the middle of the ring. It doesn't last long- Seth is distracted with Sami, so he misses how it happens but Ethan is the first eliminated, Bennett laughing down at him and Seth takes the opportunity to step closer to the ropes, waiting until Sami is charging at him and, at the last moment, leans over and _feels_ as Sami topples over and down, hitting the ground with a satisfying thud.

Bennett and Seth then have similiar ideas, taking to opposing corners and watching as Marty and Bobby struggle to get the upperhand against each other, until Marty eventually hits Fish hard with a heelkick, sending him over and out. Now down to the three of them, they escape their corners and stare at each other. Seth halfheartedly joins in but, as soon as Marty and Bennett get into a thoroughly desperate exchange of punches and insults, he slips into the corner once more and observes with a smirk as they wear each other out. When the time is perfect, when neither man can barely stay on their feet long enough to land another punch, he rushes forward, hooks both of them and tosses them over the top, having his hand risen with very little damage inflicted upon himself as he cackles joyfully.

Sin Cara then outruns Ishii and uses his highflying ability to take him down long enough for a pin, AJ Styles wins an Ultimate X match against Matt and Nick Jackson, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus and Mark Briscoe, somehow kicking Sheamus off of the X hanging overhead before latching onto it himself and pulling it off in time to win before someone else could try to hinder his efforts. Big E defeats NJPW's Takahashi, and Veda Scott pins Hana after Charlotte Flair escapes the ring, waving off the match going on behind her. Cass defeats Lucha Underground's Daga quickly, with a large boot to the face leading into his east river crossing, followed by Jay Lethal fighting hard against Sinestro de la Meurtes just to eventually catch him with the Lethal Injection, dazing him long enough for a pin.

Lana then arrives, the crowd buzzing as she introduces her fiancee to the ring, Rusev yelling and stomping like he does, until Kazarian's music hits and his dark eyes immediately lock on the current ROH tag team champion, the weight of Daniels' stare somehow heavy on both of their shoulders even all the way from the back. Kazarian tries, he does. Fights with everything he has, uses every bit of ring awareness to hold his own against the big man, but there's just nothing for it. Even when he gets Rusev down, Rusev doesn't _stay_ down and Kaz finds himself back at square one, gawking in disbelief before Rusev throws him around the ring like he weighs nothing. Rusev then stomps on his back and locks in the Accolade, twisting Kaz back until he's almost touching the mat with the back of his head, and Kaz screams out before tapping desperately, struggling just to breathe until finally Rusev releases the hold, the ref's warnings a distant echo to Kaz. Kaz can do nothing but watch from where he's sprawled, supine, as Lana gets into the ring and celebrates with her husband to be.

Sexy Star then faces off with Taeler Hendrix, disdain on her face as they lock up. Taeler laughs in her face after sweeping her legs out from under her, trying to mount an offense of punches and kicks on the downed woman, but Star sweeps back up and kicks her hard in the ribs, causing her to sputter and fall back against the ropes. A dropkick later and Taeler finds herself teetering on the ring apron, just for Star to tackle her clear out of the ring. They brawl on the outside for a few moments before Star throws Taeler back into the ring. Taeler's recovered enough to grab Star upon her re-entry, but Star thwarts her attempt at a piledriver and swings her around into a fisherman's suplex, hooking her leg and pinning her successfully.

The main event is a triple threat between Nakamura, Baron Corbin and Adam Cole. Adam paces around in the ring as Baron glares menacingly from outside of it, both of them watching as Nakamura makes his one-of-a-kind entrance, standing on his tip-toes and gyrating in ways only he possibly could. Once the bell rings, Adam and Nakamura lock up, Cole trying to keep an eye on their other opponent and failing as Nakamura sends him crashing down to the mat, Baron choosing that moment to enter the ring and stomp first Adam, then kick Nakamura flush in the skull. It's clear he's trying to finish the match fast as he grabs Cole and tries to rotate just enough for the End of Days, but Nakamura lands a dropkick that sends them both down, Cole covering Corbin. Shinsuke only lets it go to a two before pulling Cole off and slinging him out of the ring, grabbing Baron and punching him, elbowing him, and kicking him until he's half off of his feet.

Nakamura then tangles him up in a triangle choke, using his weight against him... until Cole returns and drops a solid elbow right between Nakamura's shoulderblades, sending him writhing away. Cole then kicks Corbin in as many places as he can reach before locking in a figure four, putting as much force on the hold as he could, trying to get the man to tap out desperately. Nakamura, however, recovers, and grabs Cole around the waist, deadlifting him up and driving him back down to the mat before kneeing him cruelly in the side of the head, once more dazing him and kicking him out of the ring. Turning his attention back to Corbin just in time, Nakamura dodges his attempt at another attack and kicks him in the back of the head, staggering him enough that when Nakamura hits _him_ with the Kinshasa, he stays down long enough for Nakamura to scramble over and pin him.

Ecstatic over his victory, Nakamura looks out over the crowd with a wide grin. "YEA-OH!" he declares happily before rolling out of the ring to head to the back before Corbin can recover and go after him again.


	31. chapter 31

Stephanie sighs as she sits back after booking the week's Team Work. It's the 4th of July and, instead of standing outside with her husband and daughters, she's stuck here with THIS card. As much as she loves her job, it truly is taxing sometimes.

The first match of the night leading into a guantlet match has Johnny Mundo vs Michael Bennett. They exchange punches and kicks, Bennett maybe just a little stronger than until John gets the upperhand after reversing his attempt at the MIP, leaping up onto the top rope and hitting the End of the World.

His next opponent is Cesaro and they straight out _brawl_. Punches, kicks, forearms, knees to the face, uppercuts, anything and everything they could think of. John's dazed after enough uppercuts that Cesaro shouldertackles him and lifts him up for the Swing, John helpless against the force of gravity as the audience counts with each rotation. When Cesaro finally lets him go, he struggles back to his feet and meets Cesaro with a fist to the face, and another, and another until he staggers too. Acting on muscle memory, John runs and hits an enziguiri to the back of Cesaro's head, knocking him forward. John then leaps up once more and hits another perfect moonsault off of the top rope for the second win in a row.

His third and final opponent is R-Truth and he just can't hold it together, Truth overwhelming him and eventually defeating him with the What's Up. John seethes as he watches his former tag partner rap on his way up the entrance ramp, the audience rapping along with him.

The next match is a tag team match, Rusev and Lana gritting their teeth, visibly displeased with Rusev's partner who dances out after them. The audience chuckles when they spot Grado dancing out behind Rusev, not caring that it's not his theme playing. Their opponents are Titus O'Neil and NJPW's Koshida and, even though neither team has ever met each other before, Titus and Kushida gel better than Rusev and Grado. Considering Rusev looks ike he would just as soon paralyze Grado than actually tag him in. Soon, Grado tags himself in and Rusev stares on in disbelief before dropping off of the apron and watching as he walks backwards up the ramp, unsurprised when Grado loses quickly after a powerful spinebuster from Titus.

Tyrus next defeats Sin Cara, batting away his highflying attempts like they're nothing and soon slamming across him, pinning him. Prince Puma takes out Tanahashi after a lengthy fight that leaves the crowd gaping at the aerial display the two men put on.

Another 'odd couple' tag match starts next, Sasha and Dana vs Sienna and Paige. The four women stare at each other, none of them liking each other. Paige and Sienna argue from the very start, both wanting to begin the match. Finally, Sasha grows tired of all of this and grabs Paige, forcing her to pay attention to her.

The brawl that comes next is kind of brutal, Sasha forearming her and elbowing her in the face when she gets up, their tag partners reluctantly trying to encourage them even while seething. Eventually, Sienna tags herself in and Paige growls, ducking under the ropes reluctantly. Sasha overwhelms Sienna from the moment she steps in the ring, leaving her laying and about to lock in the Bank Statement when Dana reaches over the ropes and tags in.

Sasha bites down on her anger as she watches Dana abuse Sienna, desperate to get back inside and finish what she'd started... again. Finally, Sienna lands a dropkick, pushing Dana back towards their corner and putting her in Sasha's range and allowing her to tag herself back in. They stare at each other, Sienna still rocked, when Sasha grabs her and hits a few solid knees to her midsection, dropping her to the mat with a bodyslam. Seguing smoothly, she twists her around, tugging back in an attempt to get her to tap, she smirks when it happens almost simultaneously. Once Sasha leaves the ring, Paige slips inside and leans over her, a dark look on her face. "This is _my_ house," she tells her coldly before pushing her face aside and leaving as well.

The next series of matches are announced as Beat the Clock matches, with Kalisto beating King Cuerno in 6:39 after a hard fought contest that leaves a lot of the audience worried for both men as they exchange one move more brutal than the last.

Kane and Kyle O'Reilly fight next and, despite Kane's strength and Kyle being on his A game, they fight to a draw, the time running out and putting Kalisto one step closer to winning.

The final match goes to Enzo Amore vs Bobby Fish. Enzo fights as hard as he can, hitting as many punches and forearms as he can, but Bobby outlasts and overpowers him, slamming him onto the mat, kneeing him in hte face and continuing to keep the offense up until trying to pin Enzo. Everyone grips when he kicks out at two, the clock ticking down more and more.

Enzo fights to his feet, looking from the clock back to Fish and grits his teeth. "I might not be able to win," he decides, _but I'll do my best to see Kalisto win. Better someone from WWE than some other federation._

It's tough, his head's already spinning, but he fights back, punching Fish until he succeeds at a quick bodyslam, splashing him from the top, forcing the oxygen from his lungs and spinning back onto his feet, staring up at the clock as it starts to tick down the last 30 seconds, but that one moment of delay is enough as Fish grabs him and knees him in the head, slamming him backwards and pinning his shoulders to the mat, the seconds almost up when Enzo kicks out at 2, Fish gaping at him in disbelief before looking up at the clock as the counter goes to zero. Enzo chuckles weakly next to him. "Did it," he groans gravelly. "'Grats, Kalisto..."

On his way out for the Battle Royal that's next, Cass meets Enzo at the curtain and hugs him tight. "You're ridiculous, Zo." Letting go of him, he moves towards the ring to face off against Baron Corbin, Goldust, Apollo Crews, Epico, Primo, Seth Rollins, Braxton Sutter and Mahabli Shera. Cass thinks he has it won after outlasting the rest and eliminating Braxton Sutter with a boot to the face that sends him over the top, but then Shera sneaks up and dropkicks him, sending him over and out in one smooth movement.

This time, it's Enzo meeting him with a consoling hug. "Guess isn't either of our nights," he sighs into Cass' chest. "Sorry, man." All Cass can do is sigh and squeeze Enzo a little tighter.

The main event sees Dean Ambrose face off with Bobby Lashley, WWE's World Heavyweight Champion vs TNA's World Champion. Dean paces, stretching and rotating his wrists as he stares Lashley down. There's no pretenses with this match, Lashley quickly abusing Dean with bodyslams and stomps to the midsection that leaves him sprawled out, struggling and spitting. Lashley doesn't let up, however, lifting him up with another belly to belly suplex when Dean abruptly punches him, kicking him in the head and then dropkicks him once he's back on both feet.

Lashley stumbles and tries to get back on offense but Dean beats him to the punch, literally, hitting him repeatedly until he staggers. He tries to push Dean off just for Dean to use the momentum to come off the middle rope to in an attempt at a reverse lariat, but Lashley collects himself enough to get up and nearly break Dean in half with a spear. They lay there, both winded for different reasons when Lashley forces himself up and tries again, this time hitting the suplex attempt and going for the pin... just for Dean to kick out right before the three.

The match pauses as Dean tries to regroup and Lashley fights to accept that his move was just kicked out of so easily. This alows Dean the time to pull himself back together and, when Lashley goes after him again, Dean sends him face first into a turnbuckle post. Pulling him back into the middle of the ring, he shifts them both around into position for the Dirty Deeds but Lashley reverses it, just for Dean to turn things back around once more, twisting Lashley over into the Dirty Deeds, smacking him hard into hte mat and pinning him for the three.

Afterwards, they all troop outside to watch what's left of the fireworks, some splitting into groups but most standing alone. Dean staggers through the dark, sore and tired. He walks by Enzo and Cass, smirking as Cass drop an arm over Enzo's shoulders. Continuing on his way, he looks around until the flashes of multicolored light illuminates Seth for him and he stands next to him, Seth's face impassive when he looks over at Dean's grinning face. To his credit, though, he doesn't start an argument nor leaves so Dean considers it a win as he settles in to watch the rest of the shows with his former Shield brethern.


	32. chapter 32

Another week, another Team Work event. Stephanie sighs, leaning back. She's exhausted, not only is this a lot of work, but so is WWE with the draft coming up and Shane being completely obnoxious. But soon it'd be over and she could focus on running WWE properly, and putting more focus on this show as well.

For tonight, though, she's content with leaning back and watching from the monitor as the matches begin. First up is Big Show vs ROH's Kazarian. Although Big Show holds strength and size against Kaz, he's fast and very confident in the ring, never backing down once. It just takes one slippery dodge getting him down and away from Big Show's massive fist, staggering the larger man and giving Frankie the time to get to the top rope and hit a rolling moonsault side slam, following the momentum to pin him.

Mark Briscoe next defeats Primo, his redneck kungfu claiming another victim. Due to tensions between Raquel and Jade, what should've been a two on one match with them against Becky becomes Jade and Becky vs Raquel, Jade nor Becky getting along well enough to stay on the same page, Raquel eventually getting the win against Jade while Becky watches impassively from the ramp, in no hurry to help her temporary partner.

The crowd reacts in various ways as The Miz's music hits next, the man walking down to the ring smugly. His opponent quickly follows, Robbie E also getting something of a mixed reaction. "Where's your wife, huh?" he calls out to the Most Must See Superstar, smirking. "She's the only worthwhile one between you two and you don't bring her out?"

Mike bristles at this, eyes blazing as he rids himself of his jacket and sunglasses, settling right into action. They brawl for awhile, neither man quite able to get the upperhand over the other, until Mike kicks Robbie hard in the upper thigh, downing him immediately. Kicking him hard in the side, Mike wrenches at his leg and leans over, looking him in the eye. "Don't ever talk about my wife again," he tells him coolly.

Robbie fights free and gets up, just to get snagged around the head and dropped down to the mat with Miz's Skull Crushing Finale. But Miz isn't done, tangling him up in the Figure Four and wrenching back on his already aching leg until he taps desperately, breathing raggedly and trying not to yell out in pain before Mike breaks the hold.

The following match is an eight man battle royal, Jimmy Uso vs Goldust vs The Mack vs Dean Ambrose vs Rusev vs AJ Styles vs Enzo Amore vs Eddie Edwards. The group of them file into the ring, staring at each other with focused grimaces, only Dean and Enzo seemingly unable to sit still while they wait for the bell to ring, shuffling around and throwing punches on either side of the ring. Finally it echoes through the arena and they're off, Enzo going straight for AJ. Luckily for him, The Club is nowhere to be seen but AJ is formidable enough on his own, hitting Enzo back and rocking him... until Dean runs up and assists, the two of them working together to throw AJ off of his game and eventually allowing them to hit him with forearms, sending him up and over. A dropkick from Enzo later and AJ is gone, he and Dean exchanging glances before turning to rejoin the brawl behind them... just to get crushed by Rusev's massive body, Dean flopping right over the top rope while Enzo struggles to hold on.

Rusev's smirk grows even uglier when he realizes they're not eliminated yet, rushing forward and gripping Enzo by the longer strands of his hair, sending him over into Dean, who loses his precarious balance and falls off, both men hitting the mat with a thud. Goldust is eliminated next, The Mack lifting him up onto the top turnbuckle and pushing him over the ropes with ease. Rusev then turns his attention to Mack and the two large men brawl until Eddie and Jimmy Uso get involved, the three of them weakening Rusev with punches and kicks, knee strikes and forearms until he's rocked, allowing just enough for Mack to slam into him, sending him onto the apron. Jimmy's dropkick then sends him over, Rusev's roar of fury distracting all of them from continuing until he leaves ringside, screaming like a wounded animal.

In the end, JImmy nor Eddie have enough strength or speed to last against Mack, soon enough finding themselves in risk of being eliminated, and fighting with everything they have, just to get picked off one by one. The Usos' bad luck continues as Jey loses to Jessie Godderz, rocked just a little too much to recover from the elevated powerbomb in time to kick out. Next, Donovan Dijak defeats Cass after reversing his attempt at an East River Crossing into a backbreaker rack against his knee, laughing when the three count is achieved.

Christopher Daniels takes out R-Truth in a lengthy back and forth where Truth tries to knock Daniels off of his game with rapping and dancing, just to be the one startled into distraction when Daniels out-dances him, leaving him vulnerable to a double underhook facebuster which costs him the match.

Once the ring is cleared, Truth still in disbelief he'd lost and outdanced all in the course of five minutes, Zack Ryder's remixed music hits and he makes his way to the ring, grinning around at the crowd. Matt Hardy's music that follows is much different, sobers the crowd up quickly. The match is brutal, Matt seemingly determined to hurt Zack, his punches rough, his leg drops and clotheslines snapping just a little harder than usual. To his credit, Zack keeps getting up for more, gasping for breath more desperate with each strike, but still looking for an opportunity, a chance to fight back. It finally comes when Matt, frustrated after Zack kicks out again, turns to scream at the ref, Zack dropkicking him in the back and staggering him forward. He turns, teeth gritting, just to get hit with a forearm that sends him back into the turnbuckles, Zack slamming into him and punching him, sending him down and opening him up for a broski boot. Matt rolls away, trying to give himself enough space to re-collect himself when Zack goes up top. Lines it up perfectly and flies, hitting the ElBro and winding Matt long enough to roll back over and pin him, his eyes widening when the bell rings to announce him the winner. He laughs and rolls out of the ring, watching as Matt kicks and screams at everything in his path.

Sami Zayn finds himself in the main event, in one of Stephanie's apparently favorite kinds of matches: a gauntlet match. He sighs and watches as Son of Havoc comes to the ring. He's a strong opponent, fighting hard through out, and Sami isn't sure he'll even last the first match, but then Havoc eats a boot to the jaw, which staggers him, and Sami follows it up with the Heluva kick, pinning him immediately. His next opponent is Epico, who is relatively easier, also falling to a harsh kick to the face, but whatever hopes Sami has of making it through this unscathed disappears entirely when Seth Rollins' music hits. He swallows and faces off against the angry, bitter former World Champion, all too aware of how Seth's been looking for someone to let his anger out on. And boy does he, knees to the face, slamming Sami into the turnbuckles, kicking him in the side when he flops down, punches to the chest and face, everything that works together to keep Sami down and out for the duration of the match.

He's already worn out from the first two matches, while Seth is fresh, so he's not too surprised, but still, it's a bitter pill to swallow, especially with his match against Kevin Owens coming up so soon. His struggles go nowhere, even the few attempts of offense that he succeeds at goes nowhere, Seth constantly beating him back down and laughing hoarsely at him while doing so. The pedigree that eventually comes is almost a relief, Sami laying there while sweat runs into his eyes, the lights dazzling overhead because of it while Seth folds him up into the most aggravating pin ever and then celebrates his win afterwards as though he'd won back the WWE World Heavyweight title already.

1All Sami can do is groan and watch from where he's slumped in the corner, determined not to let his match against Owens end the same way while the referee checks him over.


	33. chapter 33

Stephanie McMahon is on top of the world. Not only has she ousted her brother from Raw, she has control of _the_ flagship show. Her brother is stuck with B+ Smackdown, her husband is content with the future in NXT, and now... now Stephanie can make the company into the beautiful, prosperous thing it always should've been, starting with the draft. But for now, she has to get through one last episode of Team Work, which will surely shift as well once Raw and Smackdown are two different entities. She smirks, tapping her fingers against her forearm as she watches the show begin.

The first match is Jimmy Uso vs Zema Ion, who is fresh off of two victories in one night, one which made him the X-Division #1 contender. He's all over the place, all but untouchable as Jimmy can barely get ahold of him, Zema flying this way and that way, keeping Jimmy off of his feet more often than not. Desperation reigns and Jimmy goes high, missing a dive drastically, which leaves him open as soon as he staggers to his feet for Zema to springboard off the top rope and hit a tornado DDT, Jimmy unable to do anything but blink blurrily as the three count hits just a couple of inches from his head.

The next match is a triple threat, Kevin Owens facing off with Kalisto and ROH's Alex Shelley. The match ebbs and flows, sometimes Owens having the advantage and sometimes Kalisto's highflying abilities leaving him and Shelley both floundering. How exactly Shelley wins, Owens isn't sure, he's scrabbling at Kalisto's match one moment, remembering another mask- in another life- and the next, he's flat on his back, struggling and failing to kick out of a roll up, screaming in rage once he realizes that Shelley used his moment of distraction against him.

Whatever buzz the audience has gained fails as soon as Darren Young defeats Mil Muertes, a weird sensation creeping down their spines, as if something is threatening danger, even the temperature seeming to drop a couple of degrees. They whisper and mutter distressedly to each other until the lights stabilize, the temperature returns to normal and Mil Muertes is gone. TNA's Sienna defeats Becky to a somewhat distracted response after that, the women too sensing something off in the ring.

Whatever lingers after Mil Muertes' presence doesn't seem to bother Seth Rollins, the two time champion sneering as ROH's latest hire, Keith Lee, comes to the ring. The guy's big, he's solid, but Seth is on fire, determined not to lose, not tonight, not ever again until he has his title belt in hand. Keith Lee is huge, yes, but Seth's knee holds when he lifts him and slings him into the turnbuckle and that's the important thing, Seth's haughty laugh echoing through the arena once he's hooked the other man up into a pedigree and pinned him.

Cesaro defeats Bram next, alternating between uppercutting him and swinging him around until his eyes cross, leaving him overly vulnerable for a pin. Jey Uso turns his team's luck around a bit with a win in a six man against Sami Zayn, Tyler Breeze, Sheamus, Jack Swagger and Dalton Castle, even the Boys' presence not enough to change the tide of this match. NJPW's Makabe defeats Titus O'Neil soundly next, smugly posing afterwards to a mixed response from the crowd.

This is followed by a lengthy back and forth between Dolph Ziggler and Kenny Omega, the two men fighting hard and brutally to get that winning three count, but Kenny is just a little bit faster, a smidge more vicious, and when he reverses an attempt at the ZigZag and electric chairs Dolph into a bridging German suplex, that's all it takes.

Sasha Banks saunters down the ramp next, flashing her jewelry and smirking at the crowd as she enters her ring, not seeming that impressed as Lucha Underground's Sexy Star walks towards her opponent, the heavyweight title glittering around her waist. They stare each other down as the ref claims the belt, motions for the bell to ring, and then it's on. The two women exchange brutal punches, kicks, knees to the face, the upper body, anything and everything they can think of. The crowd is behind them as finally, wrestling moves get introduced to the match, Sasha slinging Star over her head, kneeing her in the side of the face before trying to get an early win. Star kicks out, however, and responds with clenching her hands around Sasha's waist, lifting her up and crashing her down in a suplex.

They roll away from each other, trying to catch their breath, give the tension a minute to settle, but it doesn't work. They can't look away from each other, fire in their eyes, and it's with a hoarse yell that Sasha's back at it, roundhouse kicking Star in the face and planting her face first into the mat. From there, it's not difficult to bridge her up into the Bank Statement, and she twists and tears until Star screams, tapping out desperately. Sasha immediately lets her go and floats away to pose for her fans, lips parted in a pleased smirk.

Apollo Crews then loses to another of ROH's new guys, Shane Taylor, but Fandango turns things around by eaking out a hard-fought victory after landing a leg drop from the top rope onto Jay White.

The main event, Stephanie sanctions but it's mostly from higher ups in ROH tired of the back and forth from Motor City Machine Guns, who apparently can't decide if they're coming or going, friends or mortal enemies. Putting three of her guys against one of theirs fills her with antagonistic glee. So it's the Club vs Chris Sabin and she watches as AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson circle the man. There's absolutely no chance for him, even when Alex Shelley comes out for moral support. The three waylay him, not even allowing him to sit up between melees of attacks, but eventually AJ directs them off and Gallows and Anderson step back, watch as AJ springs off of the top rope and hits his Phenomenal Forearm, crashing Sabin back to the mat. "Go for it, boys!" he calls to the other two, chuckling as Anderson pulls Sabin up and they settle into position, working together to twist him into a snapping neckbreaker, Gallows immediately scrambling over and pinning him.

As the crowd bursts into boos or cheers, The Club stand smugly in the middle of the ring, watching as Shelley grips his partner's foot and draws him out of the ring. Once it's just them within these four corners, AJ holds his hand out and the other two follow, making the finger motion for The Club as the broadcast goes dark.


	34. chapter 34

Stephanie smirks to herself as she stares down at the list of rosters- Raw's and Smackdown's. For this week, things will remain the same for Team Work, but next week... yes, next week things will change. She's pretty eager to see it come to fruition. Thankfully, things had been fairly easy to book this week so she's able to sit back and watch, comfortable in the knowledge of how things are going for Raw as a whole.

To start the card off, Epico wrestles Michael Bennett and succeeds in defeating him, Maria looking flabberghasted on the outside as he yells at her about visiting Puerto Rico sometime. Baron Corbin and ROH's Hanson brawls all over the ring, going back and forth until finally Corbin levels Hanson with a boot and pins him. The crowd is divided as Rey Mysterio's highflying ability proves too much for Nakamura's strong style, kneeing him hard in the face with the 619 and holding him down for a three count.

The next match is a triple threat woman's match, Bayley looking almost reluctant as she makes her way to the ring- and the crowd quickly understands why when Sasha comes to the ring next, followed by Natalya. Natalya clearly doesn't care but neither Sasha nor Bayley look pleased with getting pitted against each other so soon after tagging up and winning at Battleground. It doesn't stop them from doing what needs to be done, however, alternating between wrestling each other and working together to hold Natalya back. Unfortunately their attentions are divided enough that, just after Sasha's landed her boots against Bayley in the corner, it leaves her vulnerable to Natalya grabbing her and tangling her up in the sharpshooter, Sasha's legs already killing her from the various bits of damage she'd taken throughout the match already. Before Bayley can recover and help, Sasha has to make a decision between the point she would receive for this match and being healthy enough to defend her women's belt in the future, tapping in disgust after struggling to crawl towards the rope and failing. Natalya is smug as she leaves but Bayley stays and hugs Sasha, trying to comfort her. For once Sasha allows it, despite her wounded pride.

Following this is a gauntlet match that sees Rhett Titus defeat R-Truth, who can barely remain on his feet after wrestling Kalisto and Sami Zayn, and even defeating Braun Strowman on something of a fluke, dodging his rushing body and sending the big man staggering into the turnbuckle post, dazing him just enough for a roll-up. Alberto Del Rio defeats Aerostar after getting lucky following one too many top rope attempts, crashing down upon from the top rope boots first before pinning him. Matt Hardy then takes out Jimmy Uso with a Twist of Fate, screaming something about _DELETION!_ in his face, and Chris Jericho outlasts Rowe with all of his smarts and abilities, hitting him with the codebreaker and leaving him in the perfect position to be pinned.

Lucha Underground's Fenix comes out next, head tilted curiously as Enzo Amore makes his way to the ring, running off his half of the usual spiel to get the crowd revved up before the match. Fenix is visibly confused by Enzo's antics even as the crowd responds vocally to everything he does. Once they finally get going though, it's hard hitting and fast. Enzo's punches are sure and solid, rocking Fenix more than once, and he only just recovers enough to reverse Enzo's attempt at a crossbody into a sitout powerbomb, hooking his leg and hoping for a three count... just to fail. Enzo rolls away and gasps for air, gritting his teeth as Fenix follows up with a double knee drop, leaving him sprawled out on his back. This only gets Fenix a two count, however, the masked man blinking on in shock.

Enzo catches him like that, DDTing him into the mat and floating over into a pin attempt but it only gets him a two as well, Enzo brushing his wild wisps of hair out of his eyes as he tries to formulate another game plan... Unfortunately this bit of hesitation gives Fenix the time to recover and he knees Enzo in the skull before going uptop, hitting a corkscrew senton and pinning him. Fenix gets to his feet slowly and stares down at his opponent, still struggling just to breathe in and out, and extends a hand. Enzo stares at him suspiciously before deciding to accept the help, pulling himself up. Fenix nods at him, shaking his hand briskly, before letting him go and walking off, the most show of respect he's ever given anyone in a long time.

Lucha Underground continues having their way with the WWE roster, Drago defeating Fandango next, and TNA's double champion, Lashley, wrecks Rusev's best attempts at taking him down, slamming him down and pinning him in a movement so fluid that the crowd is speechless.

Next is an eight on six handicap elimination match, Sheamus, Primo, Karl Anderson, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Luke Gallows, Erick Rowan and Matanza vs Cass, John Cena, Darren Young, Jack Swagger, Tyler Breeze and Jey Uso. The match is hard to keep track of with all of those bodies surrounding the ring, but soon Primo, Darren, Swagger and Jey are eliminated, clearing the field a bit, but doing nothing for Cena's team's chances. He swallows and stares down Luke Gallows, who is explaining in vivid detail all the things he wants to do, before _beating up John Cena_ and Cena tries to go after him, but Anderson, Matanza and Rowan are waiting for this action and the four of them go along and do just what Gallows had been talking about. Cass tries to help but there's too many of them. Tyler stands on the ring apron and half-heartedly watches, clearly itching to take more selfies.

Finally Cesaro sneaks a tag in and he and Cena fight, his uppercuts and attempts at swinging him leave Cena rocked, but he manages to get the upperhand and F5s Cesaro, eliminating him. Sheamus taps to the Attitude Adjustment a few minutes later, and Dean, still aching after the Shield triple threat, is easy pickings as well, Cena all but threatening to pull his arm out of socket until Dean taps too, rolling out of the ring with a hoarse yell. This leaves Cass, Cena and Breeze against Anderson, Gallows, Rowan and Matanza, and Breeze still looks far from interested so Cena storms over and claps a hand against his chest, tagging him in. Breeze looks on in horrified indignance before stamping in and immediately getting waylaid by Matanza and pinned. Cena groans as Cass takes over to give him a breather, booting Matanza and Rowan, hitting Anderson with a forearm. He's just about to turn his attention to Gallows when Gallows sneaks up and powerbombs him down, Cena running in just in time to stop the pin attempt. Cass recovers and kicks Anderson almost over the top rope, pinning him.

It takes a concentrated effort between Cena and Cass to eliminate Matanza, Cena hitting the F5 yet again and followed up by Cass' Empire Elbow. Cass then pins him, Cena pressing down on Cass' back to give him just enough momentum to keep the monstrous man down long enough for the pin. Unfortunately, Gallows and Rowan are still active so Rowan grabs Cena and throws him out of the ring while Gallows grabs Cass and powerbombs him down again, pinning him. Cena has no chance, but as always he goes down swinging, his exhaustion and general aches and pains wearing at him until he finds himself flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling above as Gallows celebrates getting another point.

To continue the Club's success, AJ Styles defeats Drew Galloways with his phenomenal forearm, all but laughing in his face as his arm is lifted in victory. The next match is a tag team match, Charlotte staring on as she realizes her partner is Summer, and her opponents are Dana and Lucha Underground's Taya. It's odd, teaming against her protege, but she does it, even gets a few good moves in against the woman before Taya tags herself in. Summer follows suit and Charlotte watches, disinterested, as Summer gets herself defeated, Taya chuckling and posing afterwards. Dana, to her credit, doesn't look that impressed. ark Henry wrecks Kenny King and Apollo Crews outlasts Caprice, Naito leaving Goldust uncomfortable and incapable of regaining his composure in time to save the match for himself.

It is then time for the main event, Jay Lethal facing off with Bray Wyatt. Bray immediately begins trying all of his tricks. The upside down spider walk, the engimatic comments, and sometimes Jay looks frightened beyond belief but he always manages to shake it off, kicking and punching Bray, trying to weaken him to set him up for the Lethal Injection. However, Bray is fresh off of a win against The New Day and, even without Braun and Rowan, Bray's confidence has not been affected. When he reverses Jay into Sister Abigail, planting him harshly against hte mat with absolutely no warning, the crowd gasps and waits until the three count is issued, the referee struggling to maintain the courage to lift this man's arm up as he laughs and sinks to his knees, overseeing the crowd with a kind of all-knowing gaze. "Soon," he tells them all, voice gentle like a father reading a bedtime story to eager children in need of sleep. "Very, very soon..."


	35. chapter 35

It's been a long week. Stephanie is pleased with most things post-draft (like, she has to see her brother a _lot_ less, which is always nice...) but still, it's tiresome trying to make everything run smoothly, and making everything to do with Team Work make sense as well. Luckily she'd gotten it all together before the show was scheduled to start so now she sits back and watches, a small smirk on her face as the night begins with Dolph Ziggler losing to Crazzy Steve.

Following this is a tag match which gets the crowd going as Enzo Amore walks out, a curious look on his face as he runs through his spiel, waiting for his tag partner to come out. Clearly he's hoping it's Cass, but then the music hits and his jaw drops as Randy Orton makes his way onto the ramp. The two men stare at each other, Enzo clearly not sure how this is going to work, when their opponents come out- Jack Swagger followed by Tyler Breeze. Orton is impatient on a good day, prefering to work alone, but he's been in enough tag matches, had been half of Rated RKO. He knows how the game works and Enzo is surprised by how willing he is to work with him, staying on the apron to tag out as Enzo needs, which is often because Swagger is brutal, constantly going after his ankles, slamming him around like he weighs nothing, and Breeze isn't much better with kicks to the face and things of that nature.

Enzo slumps against the top rope and watches through blurry eyes as Orton lays Swagger out with a wide swinging forearm that topples him, Tyler Breeze taking a dropkick to the face. When Enzo is somewhat recovered, he dives over the top onto Breeze and leaves Orton to handle Swagger, but Swagger kicks out and Enzo rolls back in just in time to see Orton get caught and slammed over Swagger's shoulder. Enzo quickly gets back on the apron and tags back in, Swagger sneering at him. Enzo throws everything he can at the man, kicks, punches, forearms, ramming him into his knee, but it's not enough. Swagger grips him and bodies him over, Enzo hitting hard and collapsing. Tyler's Beauty Shot follows and all Enzo can do is struggle to breathe as he's pinned, Tyler and Swagger laughing as they leave ringside.

Orton doesn't leave like Enzo expects, instead reaching out and pulling Enzo to his feet. They stare at each other as Enzo struggles against the pain, barely staying on his feet when Orton throws a hand out and ruffles his hair. "You kinda remind me of someone I used to know," he says, an almost wistful tone to his voice.

Enzo watches blankly as he rolls out of the ring and leaves his temporary partner behind, gasping for breath. "Considerin' everythin'," he mumbles, "I guess I got off easy."

The next match is relatively quick and still succeeds at leaving the crowd cringing as Nia Jax makes fast work of Gail Kim, batting away her random volleys of offense before hoisting her up onto her shoulders and slamming her back down before the pin.

Stephanie normally doesn't do this in the middle of a card but she's curious, so she calls Neville in and stares him up and down, still adjusting to his new facial hair. "Neville, Neville, Neville," she sighs. "Because of your injury, it's understandable why you haven't done anything regarding a title opportunity at another company, but now you're healthy. Seems 100%, so what are your plans?"

Neville stares at her. "I haven't thought much of it yet," he admits. "I'm trying to find my footing here first, you know."

She nods. "Well, to perhaps give you a push in the right direction, I've booked you in a match with one of TNA's biggest stars." The last few words make her look ill but she powers through anyway. "If you do well, perhaps it will give you an idea of what path to take."

Neville faces off with Ethan Carter the 3rd. Despite his best attempts, his highflying just isn't enough for Ethan and before he knows it, he comes off of the top to be met with the 1 percenter. Neville groans and watches as EC3 leaves, smug and confiden in his victoryt, and vows that soon... soon, he will perhaps be TNA World Champion, not willing to let this slight failure derail him.

Next up is a six man match pitting Abyss, Apollo Crews and Mark Briscoe vs Big Cass, Moose and Roman Reigns. It's hard for any of them to get along, none of the six men trusting each other in the slightest, which makes the match hard to compete in. Even time on the apron results in arguing of some sort amongst them all. It's a breath of fresh air when Roman finally shakes away all of the distractions, hits a Superman Punch on Apollo Crews and pins him, taking the point and staring down his 'partners' until he's gong.

Zack Ryder comes out next, followed by Michael Bennett and his wife. He'd had a rough night the week prior at Smackdown, nearly injuring himself after a bad slip following an attempt at the ElBro. He's much more focused tonight, keeping up with Bennett so well that the crowd barely makes any noise at first, in awe of this, and even getting behind him when he goes up once more and ignores Maria's attempts at stopping him, before he lands this ElBro attempt perfectly, pins Bennett and wins. "Yeah, bro, I've got another point!" he exclaims, beaming at everyone, even Maria, before he races backstage to tell anyone who'll listen.

The surprises aren't over for the crowd as Donovan Dijak defeats Lashley and Mojo Rawley gets a little _too_ hyped after his tag partner's success and loses to Sin Cara's speed. Following this, Sasha and Becky stare each other down, slowly starting the match off. Even though they used to wrestle often, it's been a little bit, they use the time to feel each other out, see if there's new weaknesses, unknown strengths to try to avoid. But Becky's mind is on Natalya and she's unaware as Sasha tangles her up in the bank statement, tugging back until she taps, all but crying out in pain as her arm is almost wrenched out of its socket.

Jay Lethal then faces off with, and defeats Titus O'Neil, avoiding the basics of his offense until he could find an opportunity to go flying and land the Lethal Injection, pinning Titus as quickly as he could. The next match is a triple threat with Tanahashi vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Jay Briscoe. Although both man have knowledge of Tanahashi's style, his usual abilities, the man is different today. His kicks, his punches, his everything have a little extra bite to them. Jay Briscoe gets kicked out of the ring first, not even having the strength to get back up, and Kyle's about to sneer down at him but then he feels the wind shift and turns just to eat Tanahashi's boot. It's all downhill from there and, before O'Reilly can even be sure what's happening, he feels himself being lifted and crashing down once more. The pin that follows is almost a relief as Tanahashi lays claim to the point.

Again, Stephanie finds herself inviting someone into her locker room. Finn Balor this time. She looks him up and down, smirking. "Well, if it isn't one of Raw's #1 contenders for the Universal title," she says quietly. "Do you really think you have a chance against Seth Rollins?" Tapping her finger against her chin, she starts to chuckle. "Well, whether you do or don't, I want to test something about tonight. Your durability," she explains when he starts to look uncomfortable under her hostile scrutiny. "I'm putting you in a handicap match. And it's the main event, hwich is starting any minute now, so you'd better get down to the ring. And," she adds, voice singing in fale platitudes, "Good luck!"

His opponents are Braun Strowman and Bobby Fish, of all things. Bobby Fish, he knows. Fish is a decent guy, very by the book and _good,_ but it's Strowman that's the wildcard. He's monstrous and smug, but Finn doesn't feel that dangerous looking at him. Of course Braun and Fish don't get along, almost fighting from the start over who gets to go first. Fish 'wins', and Finn nods, the match beginning in earnest. They'd be happy with a plain, one on one match, but Strowman is waiting for the first opportunity and, as soon as Bobby inches close to the turnbuckle Braun reaches out and attacks, tagging himself in. From there, Finn struggles through the pain, fighting not to concede defeat. Fish isn't sure afterwards how Finn had successfully gotten Braun down far enough for the Coup De Grace which sends him awkwardly face first into the mat, and leaves him out of it enough for Finn to lunge forward and pin him, pushing both legs as far up as he can get them.

When the ref counts three, Finn and the crowd seem to gasp as one, Fish watching on in amazement. It's common respect that pushes him out of his corner and towards Finn, shaking his hand, clapping him on the shoulder. Only when Braun starts to stir do they move, the two men pausing on top of the ramp as Fish holds Finn's fist high, enjoying the fan's reaction even more when he looks and finds Finn struggling with emotion from how the crowd had so quickly embraced him. "Congratutions, man," Fish offers, grinning at him before going to find O'Reilly, leaving Finn behind.

He looks around the nearly deserted hallway and smirks. "Not bad for a first week on the main roster," he decides, walking down the hall with his head held high, ignoring the whispers and gossiping as he goes.


	36. chapter 36

It's been a long week. There are still growing pains with the draft, Raw and Smackdown fighting back and forth for dominance, and Stephanie's glad to be back at Team Work, booking something without having to run it by Mick Foley or anyone else. Once the night's card is handed off to backstage tech, she sits back and settles in to enjoy the show.

The first match sees Big E, still stinging from everything he'd been put through by The Club, taking it out on Tyler Breeze, avoiding a beauty shot and slamming him backwards, pinning him fairly quickly. The next match is a triple threat women's match with Charlotte vs Nia Jax vs Gail Kim. Charlotte tries to convince Nia to work with her against Gail, clearly missing Dana Brooke's presence, and it seems to work... for a few minutes... before Nia gets fed up with Charlotte's attitude, and moves to clothesline her, just for Charlotte to evade and snag her, spinning her around in the natural selection. Nia lays there, blinking up at the lights, when Gail recovers and rushes forward, hitting Eat Defeat on Charlotte, scrambling quickly to pin her. Nia rolls out, angry, while Charlotte gapes on in disbelief as Gail celebrates up the ramp.

The next is first of three Beat the Clock matches, Rusev making quick work of Grado once he catches him, shoulderchecking him to the mat with a roar, stomping him and twisting him up in the accolade until he taps out desperately at 2:29. Following this is a triple threat match, Dolph Ziggler vs Nakamura vs Matt Hardy. Dolph isn't sure what to be more weirded out by- experiencing Nakamura's entrance in person for the first time, or just anything and everything to do with _Broken Matt Hardy._ His only comfort is that Matt hadn't dragged along his gardener, wife, son, and dilapidated boat for this match. Between the two, Nakamura seems more agreeable so Dolph and he work together to take Matt out of the equation, Nakamura hitting his knees as Dolph rushes up and hits the zigzag, sending Matt clear out of the ring.

He hopes it'll be for long enough as he faces off with Nakamura, the two of them staring at each other. Nakamura's offense is unlike anything he's ever experienced before, honestly, and he's been in the business a long time. His kicks, his knees, his strikes, everything else he does leaves Dolph's head spinning as he struggles just to regain any sort of momentum. The only thing that pulls things in his favor is when Matt Hardy regains some composure and grabs Nakamura's leg, distracting him as he moves to kick Matt hard in the face, sending him stumbling back again and again until Matt slumps on the outside, unable to move. Superkick followed by a fameasser and Dolph has Nakamura down, hitting him with another superkick when he gets to his feet just to hit the zigzag one more time, allowing him to pin Nakamura just long enough for the match to go in his favor. He smirks, staring around at the audience who seems mixed on their response. "That world title will be _mine!_ " he declares to everyone listening before leaving the ring.

The next match makes Stephanie smirk as James Storm faces off with Braun Strowman and quickly, decisively, loses, unable to fight free from the reverse chokeslam that has already downed so many people. The second Beat the Clock match sees Ethan Carter III facing off against Tanahashi. Neither man seems thrilled, barely two and a half minutes hard for anyone to overcome, but they try. Tanahashi's punches and kicks are absorbed by Ethan, who fights back as best as he can, desperate to watch out for the high fly flow, or any other of Tanahashi's ridiculous finishing moves, his size and strength the only real advantage he has against Tanahashi's leaner, more agile form. Tanahashi exclaims in Japanese when he's grabbed in the process of trying to kick Ethan in the face, struggling to keep his balance, when Ethan pulls him forward and hits the 1 Percenter, knocking Tanahashi silly before rolling him up to pin him... right at 2:27. Ethan rolls free at the three count, gaping at the clock for a moment before laughing hard, his teeth flashing as the ref lifts his hand up in success.

Stephanie's happiness wavers when Seth Rollins loses after a hard fought match against Toru Yano, his attempt at a pedigree reversed into a scoop brainbuster, the pin unescapeable. Following this, Titus O'Neil defeats Sakuraba soundly with his sitout spinebuster. The next match sees Chad Gable facing off with Cesaro, the two men exchanging strikes and suplexes until they're breathless and wavering, Cesaro then hitting Gable with uppercut after uppercut until Gable can barely stand anymore. He then sweeps his legs out from under him and swings him a good twenty times- the crowd counting along with him- before finishing him off with one more cycle of uppercuts, pinning him.

The third Beat the Clock match sees Primo defeat NJPW's Jay White in just under two minutes, EC3 throwing a towel in disbelief and storming off once he realizes he's just lost out on points for the contest. The American Alphas' rough night continues when Honma wins a triple threat match by pinning Jason Jordan after taking Ishii out of the ring just long enough to get that three count, Gable meeting his partner at the titantron and offering him his towel to dry off with until he could get to the showers. Jason accepts it and smiles glumly at his partner, who wraps an arm around him and helps him backstage.

The main event is a 15 man battle royal, pitting Zack Ryder vs Mahabli Shera vs Apollo Crews vs Jeff Hardy vs Bubba Dudley vs Devon Dudley vs Kazuchika Okada vs Epico vs Kenny Omega vs Jinder Mahal vs Neville vs Mojo Rowley vs Kofi Kingston vs Jay Lethal vs Chris Jericho. By the time they're all in the ring, it's very full and hard to keep track of the action as various brawls kick in, each man desperate to eliminate the other. The Dudleys and the Hype Bros stay close together, each team deciding to work together until the ring is more cleared out, but it doesn't help- Bubba is the first eliminated by one of Okada's dropkicks sending him right up and over, his scrambling attempt at gripping the top rope not enough to keep him in the ring. Kofi Kingston's nimbleness works against him when he tries to balance on the top rope after nearly being eliminated by Jinder, Chris Jericho catching him with a high enziguiri and sending him right out to the floor below. Shera is next to go, Devon eliminating him with anger caused by his brother's early elimination.

Kenny Omega kicks Apollo out of the ring next, smirking over the ring ropes at him. "Not smiling now, are you?!" he yells out at him before turning his focus back on the action inside. Zack is trapped in a corner, trying to fight off Jinder and Jay Lethal, forced to watch helplessly as Jericho eliminates Mojo like he's nothing, slinging him thoughtlessly over and then dropkicking him, mercilessly dusting his hands off as he saunters away from the ropes. "Are you gonna cry, Ryder!?" he yells at him before turning his focus on the cluster of brawling men nearest to him, joining the fray. Jay Lethal and Neville end up taking each other out next, Neville overshooting his offense and tumbling out with Jay, crashing against the floor and laying there in shock at both being eliminated that easily.

Jeff Hardy and Okada are exchanging blows in the corner, every attempt Jeff makes of going up top for high risk thwarted when Okada slashes at his calves with his forearm, weakening his legs more and more with each blow. Jeff is a slow learner, however, only just waiting to knock Okada down before he goes up top one more time. This offends Okada who struggles to his feet one more time, lunging for the ropes and pushing with all of his might, sending Jeff toppling up and over, eliminating him sufficiently. Okada chuckles down at him before turning back to the match. Kenny Omega is running towards him, clearly something devious in mind, when Okada leans over and then lifts Omega up, sending him clean over the top rope. Okada's chuckles turn into simple, confident laughter, and Kenny points warningly at him before storming away.

Jericho is in a corner, battering Zack down, when Okada snags him with a dropkick. He staggers, allowing Zack to get up and away, and the two men exchange glances. Jericho is still trying to regain his composure when Zack mouths something to Okada. The Rainmaka nods and reaches out, the two men snagging hands and running forward, hitting Jericho with a clothesline that topples him right over. He's balancing precariously on the apron when they perform nearly mirror images of dropkicks, hitting Jericho on both sides and sending him right over and down. Epico is next to go, eliminated by a solid boot strike by Okada, and Devon is next to go, Zack dodging a forearm shiver and dropkicking him before booting him in the face, lifting his limp form over the top rope. Zack has just started to think he has a chance, about to square off with Okada, when Jinder comes out of nowhere and clotheslines Zack right over the top rope. Zack hits his fist against the padding on the outside before getting up and stomping backtsage, far from pleased with being so close but so far away. Again.

Okada immediately focuses on the task at hand, raising his eyebrows and motioning to Jinder to come along. Jinder rushes him, trying to clasp his arms around him and failing when Okada shoulders him away. He grunts, rubbing at his midsection, when Okada kicks him hard, following it up with a dropkick that staggers him back. Okada sneers before rushing forward and hitting the RAINMAKA clothesline with no much force that Jinder has no way to stop his body's motion, tumbling clear out of the ring. Okada stands there, arms outstretched in the iconic rainmaker pose, as dollar bills with his face on them rain from the ceiling, the audience buzzing and grabbing for the altered currency. Okada merely smirks as he breathes in the response from the crowd.


	37. chapter 37

Before the next show, Stephanie meets up with those booked for Team Work this week. She smiles insincerely at them all, reading their faces. "So, we're three weeks away from this season of Team Work ending. I've enjoyed myself, and I hope you have too. Since interest still seems high, we'll be having another season of this starting in mid-September. Since Summerslam is this week, and ROH is also having events, we'll be taking it a little easier this week. The match card is up by the locker rooms. Good luck, everyone." She waits until they leave her office before sinking into her desk chair, smirking as she crosses her legs and stretches out languidly. She loves having all of the power like this.

The first match is a ten man battle royal, Zack Ryder, Mojo Rawley, Moose, Sin Cara, Lio Rush, Michael Bennett, Dean Ambrose, Braun Stowman, Lashley and Brother Nero Jeff Hardy entering the ring. The mix of men stare at each other, Zack and Mojo standing side by side while Moose hovers close to Bennett. The brawl that finally starts shows the WWE guys going against the TNA and ROH guys, Sin Cara quickly finding himself overwhelmed by Moose, barely able to breathe before he's thrown over and out. With his elimination, everyone breaks apart and stares at each other, sizing up the next reasonable target. It's clear the federations decide to stop making it a pride thing and be somewhat smart, the eight other man crowding Strowman and doing all they can to weaken him, Lashley giving the last push of strength to send him clear out of the ring. Bennett goes next, looking up in confusion at Moose, who had been knocked into him while brawling with Lashley. His eyes narrow as his bodyguard shrugs innocently at him before getting back into the mix of things.

Dean Ambrose is brawling with Jeff Hardy but, since breaking under his brother's influence, Jeff almost seems to enjoy each and every bit of abuse he takes. Dean quickly runs out of ideas to take him out of the game, staring at him in confusion, before Jeff drags him to the top rope and stares at him for a long moment before simply pushing him out of the ring with a maddened kind of laugh. "Brother Nero, Brother Nero, Brother Nero!" he chants repeatedly. He's still standing there when Mojo Rawley runs up behind him and plants his hands on his legs, easily pushing him off to follow Dean. Mojo only blinks when Jeff laughs, seeming unconcerned with even this result, but Zack nudges his tag partner and bumps fists with him before they get back to work. It doesn't last long, though. Zack is busy trying to get the upperhand against Lio Rush's speed when he glances over just in time to see Mojo get lifted up and bodied clear out of the ring by Lashley.

It's him, Lio, Moose and Lashley and he can't help but sweat as the two TNA wrestlers start brawling. He's not sure what he's going to do but it's too late to change his strategy now as he ducks Lio's highrisk attack and hits him with a clothesline, downing him long enough for Zack to re-focus. Once LIo's leaning against the corner, Zack hits him with the Broski boot and then hoists him up, sending him over the top rope and then drop kicking him from the apron when he somehow lands there. This leaves Zack with Lashley and Moose and he turns, watching them fight for a few moments. He has little chance, he knows, so... _Why not?_ he thinks, rushing forward and dropkicking Moose right between the shoulders. As soon as the man turns, Zack is on him, punching and hitting him with as many forearms as he could, staggering him. He's just started to think maybe he'll somehow succeed at one more elimination when Lashley comes from behind and lifts him up, unconcerned as he tosses him over the top ropes. Lashley barely stops for a breath before he's back to brawling with Moose, the two men exchanging ridiculous blows until Lashley gets the upperhand and shoulders Moose into the ropes. He's staggered, allowing Lashley to turn and grab him, slamming him thoughtlessly over the top. Moose tumbles over and lands hard, staring up at the ceiling in shock as Lashley poses in victory in the ring above him.

Stephanie makes her second appearance of the night, peeking into the main WWE locker rooms and calling six names. Once they're all together in the hallway, she taps her foot against the ground and smirks at them. "So, I was thinking we'd have three Beat the Clock challenges. Raw vs Smackdown." As the six men murmur and discuss this amongst themselves, she points out two of the men. "You're up first. Good luck, men." One thing the draft had brought Stephanie with Team Work is the ability to put her brother in his place by having more brand vs brand matches, prove whose roster is the best.

Her first real opportunity sees Neville vs Tyler Breeze. They fight back and forth, exchanging blows and kicks, Neville bouncing back nicely after his injury. Tyler's attempt at a beauty shot is reversed by one of Neville's enziguiris, Tyler dazed and struggling just to stand back up when Neville makes it to the top and flies off, hitting a perfect Red Arrow and pinning him in 6:01. Whatever energy the crowd had gained after the first two matches is drained after Alexa Bliss defeats Sasha Banks in the next contest, using her smaller size to first squirm away before Sasha could hit knees in the corner, and then wrenching her away and hitting the Twisted Bliss on her before she could fully recover.

Chad Gable's second week in the contest goes poorly as he loses to Darren Young, unable to gain enough of an advantage on the man to hold any serious chains of offense until Darren twists him up into the crossface chickenwing, leaving him with no option but to tap out once he realizes there's no way for him to get to the ropes from this position without risking seriously injuring himself. The next match is the second Beat the Clock challenge, Rhyno facing off with Luke Gallows. Rhyno is on top of the world after winning primaries in his state and defeating Heath Slater, but it's not enough to take out Luke Gallows, who successfully dodges his gore attempt and snags him around the throat, slamming him down mercilessly in 3:49.

Once the ring is cleared, Sami Zayn makes his way to the ring, trying to stay cheerful even in the face of Matt Hardy's lunacy as he interacts with the audience down the ramp, screaming _DELETE_ at them, and other insane things. Sami fights as hard as he can, but none of it really seems to affect Matt that much, the mad gleam to his eye never diminishing until he grabs Sami during an attempt at the Helluva kick, twisting him around and planting him into the mat before pinning him.

The next match is the final Beat the Clock challenge and, although Rusev laughs raucously when he sees his opponent is Dolph Ziggler, but his ego works against him as Dolph's goal is more to run the clock down instead of out right winning, aware that it would be impossible in under four minutes against a man like Rusev. It's a struggle, avoiding Rusev's attacks, but Dolph succeeds, hitting random strikes here and there and keeping his distance otherwise. Even so, Rusev's speed is easy to underestimate even if you know him fairly well and before long, Dolph gets caught and brutalized down until there's less than a minute on the clock. Rusev then takes things more seriously and wrenches Dolph down, stomping him in the middle of the back and forcing his arms back, locking in the accolade and putting as much pressure on him as possible. There's 45 seconds left and everyone assumes Dolph will either tap or pass out before the time fully ticks down... Rusev watches closely until there's ten seconds to go, Dolph still struggling against the pain... when Rusev segues into the extended accolade, bridging Dolph while pinning his legs under them. It's brutal, Dolph is screaming in agony, but the clock is ticking, ticking away, and... time runs out. Rusev and Dolph neither win, but Dolph is slumped on the mat, laughing weakly as Rusev screams out at the mocking crowd. He's just turned around to lock in another accolade on Dolph when the crowd starts to respond positively, Zack and Mojo scrambling into the ring. As Mojo yells at Rusev, Zack shields Dolph and before long, Rusev waves them off in disgust and storms out of the ring.

"You alright?" Zack wonders, brushing some of the sweaty hair out of Dolph's eyes as he braces him against his legs, staring at him.

"Better now," Dolph mumbles, his head slumping forward.

"Good job on keeping Rusev from getting more points," Zack says slowly. "Now let's get you looked at by the trainer, bro." Getting Dolph up is painful, but between he and Mojo they accomplish at clearing the ring in time for the next match.

Carmella faces off against Gail Kim in the next match but between her nerves and being so new to the scene, Gail quickly takes advantage and responds to her attempt at a big boot by meeting her with the Eat Defeat when she turns back around, pinning her. Matt Jackson wins in a triple threat match against Cesaro and Jack Swagger, taking advantage of the situation when old tension between Cesaro and Swagger bleeds out to the surface, the two men too determined to fight each other to pay full attention to him and leaving them vulnerable to so many superkicks that the crowd loses count.

The main event of the night is Jason Jordan vs Nick Jackson, which follows the same course of the prior match, even with Jason hitting as many suplexes as possible. Nick just keeps coming back for more until finally he lands a solid superkick that sends Jason's head snapping back, leaving him vulnerable for Nick to grab him and move him into position for a piledriver. Jason squirms out of it and DDTs him once he's recovered sufficiently, but Nick recovers too quickly and superkicks him until Jason is unable to move, twitching but too weak to do anything to save himself from the 450 splash that follows. After the referee counts the three, Jason lays there and stares at the lights before rolling out of the ring and grunts, not sure how to take all of the losses so opposite of their showings so far on Smackdown. As Matt Jackson comes out to celebrate the back to back wins with his brother, Chad sneaks out to check on Jason, who shakes his head glumly and hooks an arm around Chad's shoulder, the two of them leaning on each other as they slowly make their way up the ramp to leave, regroup.


	38. chapter 38

Post-Summerslam, Stephanie can't help but absorb a bit of her exhaustion. It's been a long few weeks. Months... years. She's almost relieved that the show is limited this week, with less of the roster being used as they approach the last three weeks of the cycle. After confirming the roster and trying to figure out the matches, she finds herself with one less problem. One she definitely doesn't want to deal with but has to. She walks through the halls until she finds Gail Kim and crosses her arms over her chest. "Gail, mind if I talk to you for a minute? I have an opportunity for you, but I need to make sure you're comfortable with it."

To her credit, Gail is agreeable to what is suggested and Stephanie half smiles at her before returning to collapse against the leather couch in her office, sinking into a half doze as the show finally begins.

The first match sees Jimmy Uso facing off with Kazuchika Okada, trying not to appear too overwhelmed by Okada's flashy entrance, dollars raining from the ceiling and his loud gear and smug smile as Gedo wanders around outside. To his benefit, he tries, hitting superkicks and trying to reverse Okada's offense, but the New Japan champion has him almost from the start, hitting forearms and slamming him down, leaving him stumbling and vulnerable until Okada hits the Rainmaker on Uso, easily downing him for the three count.

AJ Styles is still feeling the effects of scratching and clawing his way to victory against John Cena the day before so he loses to Sin Cara after fighting hard against the man just to lose to his lucha-based offense, his head spinning after riding through a headscissors into an armbar that leaves him with no option but to tap out after failing to get to the ropes, his body just aching too much to struggle against Sin Cara's weight.

Kevin Owens and Donovan Dijak have another brutal fight of a match, Owens' brutal offense getting him close to pins here and there, but Dijak gets and keeps the upperhand with various kicks, forearms and backbreakers that eventually leave him in too much pain to kick out one more time.

Matt Hardy defeats Luke Gallows, unimpressed by his threats of _ringpost-itis,_ going on about being broken in a way that leaves Gallows perplexed and unable to find any sort of advantage against Hardy like he did against New Day or the Dudleys.

All in all, Dean Ambrose had come out better than most at Summerslam, but a two on one handicapped match was the last thing he was expecting tonight. Jack Swagger and Kofi Kingston are assigned to this by Stephanie McMahon, again, not a surprise, and he stares down the two men before the bell rings. Once they start, Dean fights out of double teams, throwing Swagger out of the ring. He and Kofi fight hard until Kofi lands a kick straight across Dean's brow that leaves him down, fighting just to breathe normally as his eyes cross. He never thought he'd be feeling sympathy for The Miz, but here we are. Kofi runs the ropes just for Swagger to tag himself in, Kofi watching with an unhappy glower from the rope as Swagger immediately holds the advantage, gripping Dean from behind and hitting the Swagger Bomb. Dean fights up but Swagger downs him once more with a big boot, digging his forearm against Dean's face and nearly knocking him unconscious as he makes it hard for him to catch his breath.

"Give up!" the patriotic man screams into his face, scrambling over and digging in with an ankle lock, putting as much twerk onto it as he can as he all but lifts Dean half-off of the mat. Dean is fighting with all he has, trying to roll over so he can kick free, when Kofi re-enters the ring and lands a low dropkick to Dean's face, sending him even further into darkness. The crowd's displeasure quickly grows as the referee scrambles over to check, finding Dean completely out. He quickly calls the match and awards the win to Kofi and Swagger, who sneer at each other, Swagger feeling somewhat proud of defeating the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Following this is announced as a triple threat match, Baron Corbin making his way to the ring. Zack Ryder follows, the two men staring at each other while they wait for their second opponent... just for Gail Kim's music to hit. Zack immediately pales and Baron stares down at her, a sneer on his face as he considers the possibilities of this. She seems unbothered by their reactions as she enters the ring, adjusting her gloves. The match starts slow, Baron quickly using his size to his advantage, keeping Zack down with punches and kicks. He ignores Gail until she tries to come to Zack's aid, kicking Baron in the skull. He is staggered by it but then turns to stare at her, a dark glare on his face. As he storms towards her, Zack regroups well enough to dropkick him away from Gail, the woman quickly rolling out of the ring and watching Zack as he goes uptop, dropkicking him once more as soon as he's back on his feet.

Gail rolls back into the ring and hits Eat Defeat on Baron, downing him long enough for a pin, but he kicks out viciously, rolling her clear out of the ring and opening Baron up to a Rough Ryder. Another El Bro attempt and Zack groans, gripping his back upon landing it as he rolls over and pins Baron's shoulders to the mat, holding his breath until it's over. With a slight struggle, Gail makes her way back into the ring and holds a hand out to Zack. He shifts closer before gripping her hand, shaking it quickly. She offers him a smile before leaving him to celebrate getting yet another point in this late hour of the contest.


	39. chapter 39

Team Work cycle 2 is coming to an end. Stephanie sighs, leaning back against the couch. She's not thrilled with the rankings so far, but it is what it is. She can't do _much_ about it... but she thinks maybe she can try to sway things just a little more in her favor. Either way, she has a lot of time to think about it because there's only a handful of matches that actually count towards the points and, in an attempt to fill time, had called in a couple of wrestlers who she thought would compliment each other fairly well. When a knock sounds on her door, she smirks. "Come in."

He's shorter than she expected, she thinks, staring into the curious blue eyes of TNA's Rockstar Spud. Well-reknowned for his promo and wrestling ability for some reason, though. It's unfathomable to her, but she's curious. More so when, after another knock on her door, she looks from Jack Gallagher to Rockstar Spud and has to fight not to laugh when the two men glare at each other, both British, both small, and both perfect for the exhibition match she wants to put on. "You've both been invited here to put on an exhibition match," she tells them, reciting the speech she's been thinking on for awhile now. Her eyes fix on Spud as she stares him down. "I don't want any funny business, you're a guest, and if I feel like you're disrespecting me, this show, or WWE as a whole, you won't be brought back for cycle 3 of Team Work. Understand?"

Jack Gallagher nods immediately and scampers off to prepare for the match but Spud seems fixed on her gaze, his current pride warring with the passive man who used to fulfill Dixie Carter's every request without a question. She's about to yell at him further when a shadow looms over both of them, Stephanie frowning as she looks up to find Ethan Carter the Third standing behind Spud, his dark eyes glancing from her to Spud before he pushes Spud forward. "Are you causing Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley problems, Spud?" he asks, voice more teasing than cold, which surprises her considering the two men's history.

"I never cause anyone problems, _Ethan,_ " he says coldly before taking his leave, turning and brushing past Ethan with perhaps more force than is necessary.

Ethan is barely rocked by his rough exit, smirking at Stephanie before he too leaves, following after Spud down the hallway.

She huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, wondering again why she has to be part of such a male-dominated business... and why she enjoys the challenge of it so damn much.

-x

Jack Gallagher seems as wary of Rockstar Spud as Spud is of Jack. This means that their match starts slow, the two of them circling each other before Spud forces a lock up, trying to force his fingers back to weaken him, leaving him more vulnerable to attack and less able to defend himself. They sneer at each other, Gallagher taking that moment to kick Spud in the stomach and break his hold. As Spud staggers back, Gallagher knees him hard in the midsection, winding him further. Jack lands kicks to Spud's ankle and upper calves before he can recover, trying to weaken him for his achilles lock, but Spud stumbles away and gets a solid punch in just in time, sending Gallagher back long enough for Spud to lift his legs up and kick him hard in the face. Gallagher falls back and rubs at his jaw just to get gripped around the neck and spun, DDT'd into the mat.

By the time Gallagher gets to his feet, Spud has caught his breath, glaring over at him and meeting him with a forearm when Jack tries to intercept him. Trying to get a win, Spud hooks his arm around Jack's neck once more, attempting to lead him to the corner to hit the underdog but Jack hooks his hands under his back and tosses him dismissively across the ring. Spud lands hard and cries out, his back problems well known by now. Jack leans over and sucks in a couple of breaths before returning to his side- just to feel fingers tangling in his tights, using the momentum to pin him to the mat. He writhes and only just manages to kick out, staring up at the ceiling in disbelief at how close that was.

Jack's anger grows when he realizes Spud is chuckling, the brown haired Englishman struggling to his feet and hoisting Spud up, the slight different in their height giving him an edge as he sets him up for a backbreaker, Spud only just wriggling free in time to dropkick Jack once more, catching him in the face then with his knees when he races forward. Another DDT later and Spud drags him over, successful now in his attempt of the Underdog, gripping Jack's legs and tangling him up in a pin that would be hard for anyone to kick out of, much less someone already dazed. When he hits 3, he starts laughing, leaning over so he's face to face with Jack. "This is why I'm on TV for more than some measley tournament and you're not," he tells him cruelly before walking away, smug and proud.

Despite his pleasure at winning, it's clear his back is still giving him troubles as he limps backstage, his ankle starting to cramp up thanks to Jack's earlier attempts at offense to weaken him up for his submission. He doesn't notice the worried, dark eyes following him down the hallway, nor does he pay much attention to the start of the show, although any other time, watching Ethan get beat up would fill him with all kinds of vicious pleasure. He does, however, notice when Ethan's distraction gets the best of him, falling to what had almost taken Spud out- Jack Swagger's constant offense to his legs, weakening him for the Ankle Lock. He had fought through something similar against Kurt Angle many times in TNA but, when Swagger knees him in the hamstring and then stomps hard on his ankle, Ethan can do nothing but yell futilely as he floats over and grips his leg, tangling him up in the submission hold. Ethan fights, tries to scramble to the nearest rope, but Swagger plants his legs and drags Ethan back, putting all of his weight on Ethan's leg until finally, for the sake of his own career, Ethan taps before his ankle could give entirely.

Swagger immediately lets go of it to lift his arms in success, Spud watching from the locker room with a frown. "Well, that was pathetic. Even for him," he mumbles.

The next match sees Jimmy Uso defeat Michael Bennett after Bennett tries and fails to keep ahead of Jimmy's agility, a quick superkick winding him and leaving him down long enough for Jimmy to get into position for a splash which he hits hard and succeeds at a pin.

With Cass already fighting towards the WWE Universal title, Stephanie doesn't want him also winning Team Work and currently he still has the highest amount of points, so she ponders her best options and decides to stick him in another gauntlet match. She only has so many options with who's present tonight, but she makes it the most promising match she could book to succeed at her goal. "Should you succeed," she tells AJ Styles and Big E individually, "you'll have five points. You'd only need one more point to tie with Big Cass." Her gaze grows sharper as she peers at Kevin Owens. "One more point, you could defeat Big Cass and have an opportunity at any title you want. Defeat him here for me tonight, I'll give you the world."

Kevin's smirk is smug and confusing and she's not sure what he's thinking as he brushes past her, stance confident and sure as he walks out to the ring. She'll give him credit, he does hold his own pretty well against Cass... until, that is, the taller man gets him down long enough to hit the Empire Elbow. Then something changes. Kevin waves the entire match off and storms off up the ramp, turning to watch as the referee counts him out. "I don't need this match!" he yells at the camera pressed in his face. "I'm going to be Universal Champion! That's the only title I need!"

Stephanie stews over this as the second match begins, Big Cass taking out whatever tension he has leftover from being disrespected so thoroughly by Kevin onto BIg E. He defeats half of the tag team champions within minutes, Big E never quite able to find his footing against Cass' frustration and anger. However, AJ Styles succeeds where everyone else fails, still crowing about beating John Cena as he walks to the ring, confident and sure in his own ability in a different, more low-key way than Kevin Owens. Instead of being angry and desperate to prove himself, it's clear he feels that he already has. That mixed with his pure wrestling ability and veteran status in wrestling leaves Cass unable to recover, his anger drained as soon as he'd pinned Big E. When AJ hits Cass with a phenomenal forearm and then starts to drag him up for the Styles Clash, the entire crowd moans the decision, aware that Cass is too tall to escape it without further injury. AJ notices and laughs, dropping Cass and pressing his ankle into the calf crusher, tugging back on it until the tall man has no choice but to tap, the pain unbearable.

Breathing a little easier now, Stephanie herself comes out to raise AJ's hand in victory, smirking out of the corner of her eye as Cass struggles to stand, his exceedingly tall body only serving at putting more pressure down on his injured limb.

Once she's gone and the ring's cleared, the crowd reacts positively as Zack Ryder comes out, chanting WOOWOOWOO with him. He grins, eyes gleaming at their reaction to him, before Seth's music hits and immediately Zack grows somber, eyes dark and fixed on the ramp as the former world champion approaches. He has no weakness that Zack's observed since his return, his movements still as crisp as ever, his knee able to take everything and more than it ever did before. So all Zack can do is fight his hardest, try not to get trapped in one place for too long... but Seth railroads him from early on, hitting him with fists and forearms, leaving Zack struggling just to keep on his feet.

It's a lucky strike, Zack thinks, but he'll gladly take it, when he gets through Seth's defenses and knocks him with a hard hit, sending him backwards and giving Zack the distance he needs to hit another forearm, which staggers Seth and leaves him open for a dropkick, Seth hitting the ropes and fighting to catch his breath, clearly thrown by Zack landing _any_ kind of blow on him. Before he can recover, Zack hits him again and again, causing him to fall to the mat. Zack prepares and moves for the Broski Boot but Seth snags the bottom rope and rolls free, standing on the outside and glaring around when Zack slips through the ropes and boots him hard in the face, sending him into the barricade wall. As Seth recovers, Zack dives over the ropes and sends him crashing down before rolling back into the ring and waiting, sneering as the referee begins the count.

Seth recovers, however, getting back in at number 7. Zack and he circle each other, an appraising kind of look in Seth's eyes before he lunges forward. Zack meets him with another dropkick and he hits the mat, gasping and choking as Zack bridges him into a pin, holding him down with everything he can... but Seth fights free and glares over at Zack once he's somewhat upright again, clearly underestimating him this entire time. When Seth goes after Zack again, Zack sweeps his legs out from under him and Seth lands hard, gasping for just a little bit of oxygen as his lungs protest the sudden lack. Zack pulls him up and dives into the ropes, coming back to hit the Rough Ryder when Seth hooks his hands on Zack's legs, forcing the momentum of the move into his own favor and slams him back first into the turnbuckle. Zack yells out and collapses forward, trying to grip at his back as Seth forces his arms forward, about to hit the pedigree. Zack isn't done just yet though, powering through and sending Seth over his shoulders before collapsing to the mat.

Beyond pissed, Seth watches him for a moment before getting to his feet and standing in the corner, beady eyes locked on Zack's struggling form. It takes a few moments, patience that Seth normally wouldn't have, but then Zack's on all fours, struggling just to stay alert, trying to shake it off, and Seth races forward, about to curbstomp him into the mat like he hasn't done to anyone in well over a year, the adrenaline thrumming through his veins...

The pure bliss of feeling the impact of boot to skull, then skull to mat, leaves Seth dizzy and giddy, barely able to make his muscles work as he snags Zack's leg and twists him into a pin that he's pretty sure no one could get out of, the curbstomp almost making this seem repetitive as he knows he's already won. Still, it has to be done for record's sake, so he tolerates it, closing his eyes until the three count is achieved and he's won. Smirking at the boos from the crowd, he leans over and takes in the dazed look on Zack's face before leaving, one step closer to unseating Cass from the advantage he's had on all of them since this cycle began all of those months ago.


	40. chapter 40

It's been a long week. Stephanie stares at the short list of superstars applicable for Team Work this week and sighs. "Alright, since only one man can possibly challenge Cass for his #1 position, we're going to have an five man battle royal to fill time," she decides, tapping a pen against the paper she's staring at. "And Kevin Owens will have a singles match. If he wins, he challenges Cass to win this cycle." It's not the best solution, but it's the best she can do. She sighs and hopes the elimination match goes long so that the entire first half isn't just recaps of the weeks leading up to this conclusion.

Donovan Dijak is the first out to the ring, followed by Zack Ryder, **BROKEN** Matt Hardy, Big E and Lashley. The five of them circle each other uncertainly before Matt moves in and attacks Big E while he was in the middle of gyrating in the middle of the ring, screaming something about deleting him as he punches him. Zack watches as Dijak and Lashley start to brawl into a corner, uncertain where to get involved but wanting to fight. "Whatever," he finally decides, getting in between Matt and Big E and hitting Hardy with a forearm. Matt rocks back as Big E grips him around the waist and throws him over in a belly to belly suplex, Zack stepping back to avoid taking the move himself. Big E smirks at him before turning his attention back on Matt, throwing him back against the rope and allowing Zack to dropkick him right over the top. He's trying to hold on but Big E slams him off with a solid forearm to the face.

As he lands hard, Big E yells, "Who's been deleted now? Huh?" He's leaning so far over that it doesn't take much for Zack to lift his legs up and send him over to join Matt Hardy, who laughs dementedly in his face.

"Sorry, bro, every man for himself," Zack yells out at him before turning back to Lashley and Dijak, who are still locked up, fighting for dominance. Foreboding creeps down his spine as he realizes he's left entirely alone with these two, but then Lashley bodies Dijak clean over the top and then there were two. He stares at Lashley, desperate to last this match to the end. He won't win this cycle either way, but just to be able to say he'd beat TNA's champion... Lashley lunges at him while he's thinking about this and he drops down, clinging to the mat as Lashley runs towards the ropes. He stops himself before Zack gets up and turns in time to get met with a forearm, then Zack slips back and hits a dropkick, sending Lashley off-balanced.

They stare at each other once Lashley's back on his feet, some respect in the champion's eyes as he approaches Zack. They exchange blows this time and Zack falls back, gripping his jaw, before collecting himself again and sweeping Lashley's legs out from under him, striking him with blows and forearms until Lashley pushes him away and gets back up, just to get met with the Rough Ryder. They're both so close to the ropes that they both tumble off and the referees watch closely as Zack clings to the top and skins the cat, dragging himself back in. When the referees confirm that Zack has won, Lashley goes balistic, throwing the steps around and kicking at the barricade ramp before storming up to the curtains while Zack celebrates, grinning around at the crowd who's buzzing happily for him.

Kevin Owens comes out, the Universal championship over his shoulder as he looks dismissively at the crowd. His opponent is Ethan Carter III and he all but laughs as the man walks down the ramp, the crowd's reaction mixed. They stare at each other while introductions are made and then they immediately lock up, Ethan trying to overpower Owens but failing when Kevin braces and then throws Ethan away, punching him when he comes closer. Ethan sputters and grips his face before Owens kicks him on the re-approach, laughing down at him before he tries to cannonball on top of him.

Ethan sputters upon getting away, struggling to catch his breath even as he forces Owens to his feet once more and prepares to lift him for a suplex just for Owens to wiggle free and kick him in the back of the head, sending him into the corner once more. This time the cannonball works and Owens laughs against the back of his head before pulling away and letting Ethan drop lifelessly to the mat. Owens makes it up top and dives into a frog splash, winding Ethan even further. Lifting him up, he pop up powerbombs him rough into the mat and then twists him up in a pin, immediately rolling free and taking in the crowd as he stretches his arms out in relief. He'd won, getting one step closer to succeeding at this cycle and not only being Universal champion but also having an opportunity at whatever other company's title he wants.

As soon as Ethan staggers out of the ring, Enzo Amore's voice echoes through the arena and Cass comes out to finish the cycle off with his match against Owens to break the tie they now find themselves at and confirm who will be the official winner. Owens' eyes stare, unimpressed, up at Cass' 7 foot tall form before lunging forward, punching and kicking with everything he's got. He's already at a disadvantage after wrestling while Cass is still fresh but he's determined to see it through to a victory. Unfortunately Cass' reach is also further so Owens has just stepped back to figure out something more damaging when he gets hit square in the face, rocking backwards and allowing Cass the space to hit his big boot.

Owens blinks blankly before scrambling back up, struggling to blink the stars out of his eyes and grabbing Cass when he walks forward to hit again, fighting to find a good grip on his thighs to lift him. But he's too dazed and tired, his legs giving out on him and causing Cass to land on top of him. They lay there, the referee counting the pin, but then Owens just kicks out, kneeing Cass in the head to get him off before he can try a second pin attempt while the ref is still in position.

He then tries to hit another cannonball but Cass snags him and hits the East River Crossing, sending sharp pain up Owens' back as he lands hard against the mat, his dizziness growing as he lays there, feeling as the ring rattles with each count from the referee but he can't do anything about it, too exhausted and sore as his chances at winning this cycle slips through his fingers, Cass officially redeeming himself for being the first eliminated from the four way title match the week prior.

As Owens staggers out of the ring, he only just misses getting run over by a red blur of energy, Enzo Amore running past him and into the ring, jumping into Cass' arms in a congratulatory hug. Cass beams and hugs him back, careful not to drop him until Enzo drops to his feet and squeezes Cass for a few more moments before dancing around the ring, Cass watching him with a grin, his eyes gleaming affectionately.

Stephanie sighs from her locker room, filling out his name on the form she keeps online. _Neville, Naomi, Big Cass._ She exhales and shakes her head. "Well, the one plus is they're all WWE guys. At least another company's had a winner yet, so our titles aren't at risk." Printing out the contract allowing Cass to choose what title he'll go after in the immediate future, she heads out to ensure that the contract is signed and executed as soon as possible so she could begin to plan cycle 3 in peace, which will be starting next week.


	41. chapter 41

Cycle three. Stephanie taps her fingers against her chin and reads over the match list, nodding. It's a lot of matches, it's going to be a long night, but she's ready for it. Prepared. After all, her vision has become more and more of a success with each passing week, the cycles holding people's interest and proving that, as complicated as the contracts and everything else is, it's worth it. She smiles and claps her hands, ready to get this show on the road.

The first match is a womens' triple threat, Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch vs Gail Kim. Alexa gets taken out early, Becky and Gail brawling until Alexa breaks up a pin attempt from Gail onto Becky by hitting her moonsault off of the top rope onto both of them. She then twists Gail up, pinning her and making faces at a confused looking Becky as she skips happily up the ramp.

The second match of the night sees new tag team champion, Rhyno, face off against Lucha Underground's Matanza. It's hard to get the upperhand against Matanza, his horrifying strength overwhelming Rhyno at nearly every turn but Rhyno's veteran know-how of moves and how to react to things in the middle of the ring work against Matanza and, after Rhyno reverses a suplex attempt into a scoop powerslam, Matanza is dazed and uncharacteristically staggered, the brief bit of uncertainty leaving him wide open for a Gore that grants Rhyno just enough time to pin him and scramble to safety, celebrating yet another high-stakes victory this week.

Next is a six man match that devolves quickly, neither team gelling well. Instead of tagging in and out like they should, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler and Primo spend most of the match arguing while Kane, Titus O'Neil and Jey Uso watch on impatiently. Kane's just snagged Dolph, chokeslamming him, when Jey reaches in and tags in, hitting a splash from the top rope and pinning Ziggler. Kane grits his teeth and allows the count, but as soon as the match concludes, he pushes Jey back and glowers down at him, Jey's bitterness and confidence wavering under Kane's anger. "If you ever do anything like that again, so much trauma will be heaped upon you that your great great great grandchildren will feel it," he tells him coldly before exiting the ring and heading slowly, imposingly, backstage.

After a match with clashing styles between Jason Jordan's more collegiate style and Rey Mysteri's highflying luchadore abilities, Jason Jordan walks out the winner, beaming at Chad Gable as he sits by the curtain, the two of them quickly bumping fists before Jason notices Stephanie standing off to the side. "Mrs. McMahon-Helmsley," he says formally, helping Chad when he almost overbalances on his crutch. "Is there something we can do for you?"

"Yes," she says, singling her attention on Chad in a way that makes Jason uncomfortable. "I need to talk with your tag partner really quick. See, Chad, you and Jason technically both won the match last week so you're booked in a match tonight, but I can easily forfeit it since you're not cleared to compete, but-"

"It'll forfeit a point towards the contest too, won't it?" he asks, voice shaking slightly as he considers the ramifications. Even this early in the cycle, every point counts. "I can't do it." Jason grips his wrist. "I have to try, JJ," he says quietly. "I've already failed us at enough this week. If I can get a point, maybe we can sweep this thing." Jason sets his jaw and stares ahead as Stephanie holds out additional paperwork for Chad to sign claiming, should something go wrong, he won't hold them liable.

"You don't need to do this," Jason mumbles, distressed.

"Yes, I do," Chad responds, resolute.

Drew Galloway then defeats Neville, taking everything he dishes out and throwing it back to him then some. Targetting his recently just-healed ankle leaves Neville vulnerable to be tangled up with all of the weight and pressure on his legs, the man unable to do anything but tap, screaming in pain until Drew is ordered to release the hold by the referee. Next is the first match in a women's beat the clock series, Carmella facing off with Jade. Jade fights with everything she has but Carmella, still pissed off over losing at Backlash, takes it all out on her and finally lays her out with the modified headscissors, banging her head against the mat until she's too woozy to do anything but lay there while Carmella pins her in 4:21.

Still ecstatic after winning the tag titles, Heath Slater makes his way to the ring, all but singing along to his theme as he grins around at the crowd, now fully on his side after years of struggle. He only sobers a little when Epico comes to the ring and the match begins, Epico content to mock him as much as he is to actually fight. "Maybe my cousin and I should come over to the worthless blue brand and should you and your ugly old friend what a tag team can do," he yells over hte crowd's general response. This wakes something up in Heath that he'd tapped into a little bit on Sunday and before Epico knows what's happening, Heath's on top of him, raining punches and open fists upon him, quickly staggering him. Every time the ref starts to fuss, Heath backs off, allows enough space between them that Epico can get to his feet once more, before he's staggered yet again.

To his credit, Epico tries to get offense in, snagging Heath for suplex after suplex just to have them countered by knees to the head, or elbows to the temple, anything and everything Heath could do to succeed. Eventually, he lifts Epico and DDTs him into the mat, floating over and pinning him. Realizing he'd won twice this week, as had Rhyno, his grin grows and he bows happily to the crowd before taking his leave up the entrance ramp to make room for the next match.

The crowd buzzes, uncertain how to react, when Bo defeats Miz by countout after reading off another one of his bizarre poems. Mike had fought just to find Bo continuing to fight no matter what Mike had attempted so he'd ultimately grabbed his title and left the man to stew at his retreating back, the crowd booing as he goes. "I'm not a coward," he screams at them before disappearing behind the curtain.

A triple threat pitting Jay Lethal against Baron Corbin against Kyle O'Reilly sees Kyle walking out the winner after Jay and Baron's egos get the best of them both and the referee has to get between both of them, O'Reilly grabbing Baron and slinging him out of the ring before diving after him and elbowing him in the skull to keep him down, sliding back in in one fluid motion and kneeing Jay in the head before twisting him up in a triangle choke until he passes out.

Seth Rollins comes out to face off with Naito next, the two men circling each other a few times before Seth forces the lock up, overpowering him and sending him into the ropes, trying to hit a hard punch but failing as Naito responds with a forearm, Seth careening onto the mat. He lays there for a moment, trying to recollect himself, when Naito meets him with a solid kick to the back as he manuevers his way back up to his knees. More kicks to his chest and head and Seth goes down again, struggling to find a way up without getting kicked down again. Finally he spins and takes Naito's legs out from under him with a solid leg sweep, moving as quickly as he can back up. Grabbing Naito by the head, he forces him up and cradles him before rushing towards the turnbuckles, throwing him into them. He watches with some sort of detached pleasure as Naito crumbles to the mat before running forward again and digging his knee hard between Naito's shoulderblades.

Naito tries to fight back, twisting away from a frog splash attempt and cradling Seth to a two count, but Seth recovers quickly and elbows Naito in the face before putting him in position for a pedigree. Naito struggles but Seth fights back and knees him in the head before re-setting the move and slamming him face first into the mat, pinning him. He rolls away from his opponent and raises a hand in victory, glancing around as the crowd reacts mostly positively.

Darren Young defeats NJPW's EVIL next, and the second Beat the Clock match is held as Nia Jax faces off with Sexy Star. They fight brutally, the luchadora holding her own quite well against Nia's raw power. It's clear early on that Star's prime objective is to hold on, run the clock down, if not win herself, but every move she attempts either gets kicked out of or just simply reversed into a more dangerous move each time. Nia is just about to pin her after slamming her down when the time runs out and the match is ended. Nia rages, her hands tightening into fists as she glares over at Star, who is still struggling just to sit up.

Jack Swagger defeats Tanahashi and Jimmy Uso beats Bobby Fish with repeated superkicks to the face, standing over him and sneering. "As soon as I win this entire cycle, I'm coming for your television title," he declares, slapping him with as much disrespect as he can muster until the referee orders him away tensely. Shocking the entire arena, Sheamus defeats AJ Styles when Dean Ambrose comes out and paces the ringside area, distracting the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, leaving him open to a brogue kick. The third round of the Beat the Clock challenge sees Natalya and Bayley fighting to another time limit draw, thus giving Carmella the time win _and_ the point.

The main event is a gauntlet match, Eli Drake pacing around with a smug smirk, waiting for his opponents to begin coming out so he could pick them off one by one. His courage falters big time when the first man to approach him is Braun Strowman, Eli's eyes widening in horror as Bray Wyatt's former dark sheep enters the ring. The pounding he receives from Strowman is brutal and unending and how Eli survives, he's not sure but one minute he's held up for the chokeslam and the next he's reversing it, using Braun's momentum against him as he grips his hair and lands a solid spinning facebuster, dazing Braun enough to fit the Blunt Force Trauma on him before diving onto him and pinning him desperately, scrambling to hold him down.

His second opponent is Chad Gable, Jason Jordan standing in the shadows of the gorilla position after helping his tag partner out as far as he's allowed to. Chad can barely move, much less hit the most of his moves, but he tries, eventually succeeding at a dropkick but immediately grabbing at his knee when he lands. Despite the derision on his face, Eli _almost_ feels bad for him so he moves to finish it quickly, trying a backbreaker and then pinning him. He's not sure which knee he's grabbed when moving to leverage the pin even more in his own benefit but he's sure when Gable's breath stutters in his ear that he has the injured knee. It's a relief when the three count is achieved and Jason runs down to help his partner to safety before the third and final opponent comes out to finish the show. Eli watches them go, leaning against the ropes. "Dummy... yeah," he yells after them, waving off Jason's angry glare back at him as he helps Chad limp along the side of the ramp.

Karma is a bitch, though, he can't help but think, Eli's shoulders slumping when Michael Elgin comes out, aware of how it's going to end considering he's already wrestled two... or, well, one and a half matches. Eli is so tired of this whole process already that it doesn't take long for Elgin to take control. The first powerbomb knocks him loopy, the second takes him out entirely and all he can do is listen as the referee counts the pin, granting the win to Elgin while Eli lays there dazedly, staring up at the lights overhead, trying to digest his loss.


	42. chapter 42

It's been a long week. Stephanie McMahon Helmsley is still not sure what to think of a world where only Mick Foley trusts her 100%. Her own husband won't talk to her about his actions, lost in the final week of the Cruiserweight Classic and signing new people for NXT, and she's beyond fed up with Seth, certain that her anger will soon bubble over and make her say things that she's wanted to say to the man for much too long by now.

Thankfully Team Work is straightforward enough to put together this week and she smirks as she sits back and prepares to watch, head tilting. The first match involves former Authority Director of Operations, Kane, facing off against Michael Elgin. Kane's clearly slowed down some since leaving the Authority and she taps her fingers against the arm of her chair, smirking as Kane is slammed easily enough by Elgin and then pinned, the man's impressive strength enough to keep Kane down for the three count.

Her amusement continues when there's a huge upset next, Epico defeating Dean Ambrose. It's clear Ambrose is still distracted by everything going on with John Cena and AJ Styles, not giving it his all, so all it takes is a few seconds and Epico to repeat what he'd done to Enzo Amore on Raw the week prior, before he's scrambling out of the ring, laughing and pointing back at Dean. "You should come to Puerto Rico! Hit me up, we'll talk," he calls down the ramp, a smug smirk on his face.

ROH's Shane Taylor beats Jimmy Uso next but Jey Uso turns things around for their team somewhat by taking Jinder Mahal down easily afterwards, the crowd clearly uncertain how to respond to all of this. A six man match sees Tama Tonga, Killshot, Kevin Owens, Mil Muertes, Karl Anderson and Goto square off in the middle of the ring but, after Tama Tonga, Killshot, Owens and Anderson spill out to the outside and begin brawling there, Mil Muertes and Goto fight hard, throwing punches and slamming each other until Mil Muertes gets the upperhand and lifts Goto, slamming him back down face first before twisting him back around and pinning him. It takes a few moments for the others on the outside to realize what's happened but, when they do, Mil throws his head back and laughs darkly as Owens yells out his displeasure.

The next match sees Jason Jordan coming out to wrestle Darren Young and he doesn't even blink when Bob Backlund accompanies his opponent, despite how empty the space next to him is with Chad at home, resting and rehabbing so he can hopefully be back on the road with Jason soon. They lock up as soon as the bell rings and Jason closes his eyes, ignoring Backlund's yells and commands, spinning Darren around and lifting him up into a German suplex, sending him flying back with a hoarse yell. Darren tries to fight back but, even with Backlund's encouragement, Jason has a lot of leftover anger held from everything Chad's been going through because of the Usos and he takes it out on Darren, tripping him and punching him a few times before diving onto his legs and twisting him into the ankle lock, putting as much twerk as he can on it until Darren screams out, unable to shift away and grab the bottom rope, stuck in the middle of the ring drowning in pain until finally he gives up and taps desperately, struggling until Jason lets it go upon realizing he's won.

The next match sees Braxton Sutter get beat to hell by Dr. Wagner Jr, the man's punches and kicks amazingly brutal despite his age. His experience makes up for all of it and Sutter, still sore after his empty arena match with Rockstar Spud, quickly loses energy and almost finds himself getting pinned repeatedly, only just fighting free each time. It's a lucky break that Wagner collapses when Sutter kicks his knee with the toe of his boot, using his other foot to sweep the arm he's using to brace himself and sending him crashing to the mat. This opens him up for the 450 splash and the crowd grimaces when Sutter almost missing it completely, but ultimately pins the older man and gets the three count.

Sasha wins a triple threat against Gail and Alexa next, the three number one contenders to their respective female titles fighting as hard as they can until Alexa attempts to pin Gail after hitting Twisted Bliss just for Sasha to grab her and throw her out of the ring, achieving the pin herself. She laughs down at the Smackdown branded wrestler before prancing into the middle of the ring and posing for the audience, careful not to entirely take her eye off of Alexa, who eventually scoffs and storms up the ramp to get away. Following this, Neville's speed works decisively in his favor when he defeats Rowe after escaping one of Rowe's suplex attempts, kicking him loopy and then going up to hit the Red Arrow, somehow holding the large man's shoulders down just long enough.

After Eddie Edwards defeats Luke Gallows, Aron Rex comes to the ring, examining the crowd as he waits for his opponent. The crowd responds happily when Rhyno comes out, chanting ECW!ECW!ECW! as he gets into the ring. Aron rolls his eyes, relieved when the match starts, but even though he fights hard, trying to punch Rhyno and daze him, Rhyno fights back and powerslams him before getting into position in the corner, motioning Aron to get up. Once he does, the patient Rhyno roars forward and gores him, tangling him up in a pin before rolling away and allowing the referee to lift his hand in success.

ROH's Hanson has very little patience for Bo Dallas' poetry, grabbing him mid-prose and sidewalk slamming him before going up to the top rope and splashing onto him, keeping him down as the referee counts.

After Rhyno's easy win, Heath Slater comes to the ring, looking confident and brazen... until Christopher Daniels' music hits. He falters and stares ahead as the man gets into the ring, his years of knowledge and success intimidating especially after Heath's luck recently. Still, he fights with everything he has, hitting punches and forearms, even getting a scoop slam in and ramming his knee into Daniels' chest and trying to cover him but only getting a 2. He scrambels to his feet just to get a solid kick to the face, downing him as he cups his nose and tries not to cry at the eye-watering pain. When Daniels approaches him again, it's instinct as he grips Daniels by the shoulders and neck and tries to pin him, just for Daniels to kick out once more. Heath yells out in frustration before lunging forward just to meet a rolling cutter, his ears ringing after he slams into the mat. He tries to recover but it's all downhill from there, Heath's each attempt at offense getting him nowhere.

He knows it's almost over, Christopher Daniels just too good, but he doesn't give up, trying to DDT him... just for Daniels to get free and hitting Heath hard in the back of the head with his heel. As Heath staggers, Daniels grabs him and brings him up to the ropes, drawing him up to the second rope. Heath can barely fight as gravity comes back to leave him dizzy and dazed until Christopher slams him down in a double underhook facebook, pinning him quickly. The three count makes Daniels smirk even as Heath struggles to get to his feet in the corner. Daniels sneers at the crowd before turning back to his oppoennt.

Heath is startled but accepts either way as Daniels helps him up and even dusts him off, which is pointless because Heath will he showering soon to watch off today's failure. "Good match, man, conrgats."

Daniels smirks at him and nods, releasing him. "Just wanted to tell you you did good. I had fun."

"Thanks," Heath nods, smirking grimly. "So we good?"

"Unless we face each other again soon, I don't see why not," Daniels smirks, holding out a hand and shaking Heath's securely. "Thank you."

"Thank you," Heath chuckles, waving at him and at the crowd, relieved to be heading back to focus on his tag title reign with Rhyno until the next time he'd been competing for Team Work.

Keith Lee and Tanahashi then work together in a handicapped match, Lee battering Strowman down until Tanahashi can get into position for the high fly flow, the two of them holding Strowman down for the pin. Makabe defeats Cesaro and after a lengthy back and forth, Kazarian takes out Tanga Roa with a piledriver. Honma wrecks Kamaitachi easily, his experience quickly overwhelming the younger man and leaving him with very few feasible attempts at offense.

Shibata faces off with Cena for the main event of the night, the two men going to a war that has the crowd on the edge of their seats, their biases towards or against the men failing to matter as they exchange strikes, Cena lifting Shibata up just for him to knee Cena in the side of the face and getting free before he could send him crashing back down. All he succeeds at doing with various attempts at the Atitude Adjustment is to annoy Shibata further and, before Cena can fully recover from having his finisher reversed again, he turns and walks right into Shibata's foot, almost digesting his boot before Shibata lifts him once more and sends him down, his leg slamming into Cena's chest as gravity sends him down face first into the mat. Wanting to ensure that Cena's down, he tangles him up in a triangle armbar, making sure the worst of the pressure is against Cena's elbow where he'd had surgery at in the past. Cena screams and fights free after a long struggle just to be met by another solid kick to the chest, staggering him. Shibata suplexes him back and pins him, Cena unable to catch his breath enough to move, feeling like his chest has caved in.

Once the win is achieved, and Shibata rolls off of him, he begins to recover slowly, rubbing his bruised chest and slowly sucking in deep breaths once more. Getting painfully to his feet, Cena approaches Shibata and holds a hand out, the man eyeing him suspiciously before meeting him halfway. Cena nods and lifts his arm, looking around at the crowd as they applaud the brutal fight they'd just seen and the men who'd given so much to make sure they enjoyed it this much.


	43. chapter 43

Stephanie adjusts her hair, staring at herself in the mirror. Things are finally, slowly, coming together for Raw, HHH actually talking to her again, so she can focus on Team Work a little more. Which is good because, with this cycle still so fresh, there are a lot of people applicable which means so many decisions to make. She taps a fingernail against the print out of booked matches before handing it off to a tech to hang up by the locker room. Once the show starts, she puts aside paperwork and sits down to oversee things, relieved that, for the most part, this brand is lowkey and usually easy to keep together without much of her visible influence.

First match of the night sees Enzo Amore going against Michael Elgin. Cass follows him down to the ramp, since Enzo had done so for his first world title opportunity a few weeks back, backing him up as he does their little entrance shtick before lifting the mic while staring down Elgin as he walks around inside the ring, looking at them impatiently. "So few liked you, you had ta move to Japan just to continue wrestling," Enzo says, pointing at him. "Luckily we here at Team Work are all about second chances, but it's gonna be a short one once Sugar Ray Amore here's done with ya."

Cass waits until Enzo's done talking to put his own mic to his mouth. "Considerin' baseball didn't want you either, Elgin, there's only _one_ word to describe you! S-A-W-F-T!" Cass quickly pats Enzo on the back before turning to walk back up the ramp, aware that he's unable to stay because of the general rules of the contest. It's clear he hates it though and Enzo isn't too thrilled either as he ventures towards the ring and stares over at Elgin, adjusting his leopard wrist braces before lunging forward and locking up with Elgin. He's quickly overpowered and thrown back to the mat, trying to fight with everything he's got- punches, kicks to the knees, forearms, DDTs, his moves barely staggering Elgin.

He's winded, struggling just to stand, the only thing keeping him going being the crowd racuously supporting him. "C'mon, c'mon," he yells, watching through blurry eyes as Elgin climbs up to the top to hit his splash but Enzo gets to his feet in time and succeeds just in time to catch him with a dropkick before going up top himself. He hits the splash, missing Cass' guiding hands, and pins Elgin, gaping as the three count is achieved. "Holy shit," he mumbles, rolling out of the ring before Elgin could grab him, slapping hands with the fans on the way up the ramp.

Cass meets him and they grin at each other, Cass hugging him tightly and playing with his hair before pulling him backstage to get him checked out by the trainer while listening to him talk excitedly about the match like Cass hadn't just been sitting there watching the entire time.

The next match is an Ultimate X match, Aron Rex, TJP, Kevin Owens, EC3, Sami Zayn and R-Truth fighting to get up to the top to grab the X icon hanging in the wires overhead. Sami and Owens, of course, gravitate straight towards each other, exchanging punches nonstop, while Aron Rex and TJP begin fighting. Truth and EC3 stare at each other, neither sure where to start, but finally tiring of watching everyone brawl, Ethan runs forward and moves to attack him just for Truth to snag the top rope and hang, sending Ethan over the ropes. As he crashes to the floor, Truth runs past the other fighting men and crawl up, closing his eyes against the heights. "Hate heights," he mumbles, "hate hate hate..." Despite it, he works through and grabs the cord, hoisting himself up and squirming far enough to the left that he can grab the X. Once it's free, he laughs and hangs from the ropes before dropping without looking down. He lands squarely on top of the other men and laughs happily, hugging the X to his chest wiht one hand while he lifts the other in happy success.

Jey Uso defeats Bo Dallas next, Bo's short term winning streak coming to an abrupt end. Rhyno comes to the ring next to face off with Moose, the two men staring at each other until the bell rings. They fight brutally, Rhyno's experience and general strength helping him to hold his own against Moose. They're pretty evenly matched until Rhyno dodges Moose's discus lariat, meeting him with a gore and pinning him. Jimmy Uso continues the winning ways of his team by taking out Darren Young with a vicious splash, Bob Backlund all but tearing his hair out at ringside.

Charlotte and Dana faces off against Nia Jax in a handicapped match, Charlotte pushing Dana in front of herself and letting Nia snag her and powerslam her, allowing Charlotte to sneak back in and hit Natural Selection to pin the woman, posing victoriously as Dana staggers around, dazed.

The next match sees Heath Slater facing off against Brian Kendrick in the first of three Beat the Clock challenges, the two men circling each other until Kendrick gets ahold of Heath and exchanges punches with him, Heath staggering until he gets enough space between them to lunge forward and dropkick him in the face, breathing desperately as he grabs Kendrick and hoists him up, determined to finish it early when he spins Kendrick around to hit the DDT... just for Brian to reverse it into a tornado DDT, struggling to get his lanky body up and then taking him uptop to land the Sliced Bread #2. Kendrick succeeds at getting the pin at 4:53.

Damien Martinez defeats Kofi Kingston next, and Fenix's highflying ability is too much for Dean Ambrose to counter, quickly losing to him. Rich Swann is in a triple threat match next against Braun Strowman and Shibata, allowing them to brutalize each other while he stays outside and watches, agape with the rest of the crowd. Finally both men are down and Swann slips back into the ring, kicking Strowman out just to land a 450 splash on Shibata and pinning him.

Cass and Tanahashi brawl in the next Beat the Clock challenge, but Tanahashi won't stay down and Cass watches helplessly as his pin attempts fail, the clock quickly running out. Randy Orton takes out Cage next, taking him out with an RKO out of nowhere when Cage tries to hit a moonsault. Silas Young defeats Baron Corbin, and then Stephanie watches with a smirk as Jericho teams up with Aerostar against Big E. She'd grown tired of the New Day shtick and Jericho had actually stepped up lately as obnoxious as he usually is towards her, so she gives him every opportunity to win points here... but he fails to do so when Big E belly to belly slams Jericho almost clean out of the ring, leaving him in a stance that's perfectly vulnerable to Aerostar's front flip piledriver.

In the end, NJPW's Bushi defeats Miz in 3:19 to succeed win the Beat hte Clock challenge, and Drago outlasts Roman Reigns, Cesaro, Goldust and Drew McIntyre in an elimination match to receive a point of his own.

The main event sees Lucha Underground's Matanza come to the ring, leaving everyone in awe of his size and fearful presence. There's a faint, worried exhale of "oohs" as DJ Z comes to the ring, trying to be his usual, cheerful, hyper self but failing as he eyes the man waiting for him. As strong as Matanza is, he's not expecting how hard Zema will fight, the chances he'll take to keep him down. After squirming free from a suplex, DJ Z lunges forward and hits a kneestrike, DDTing him into the mat. Matanza struggles to his feet, just to get dropkicked into the ropes, where he gets tangled up. The referee is trying to get his bravery up to approach and help him but Matanza all but tears the ropes apart to get free, grabbing Zema and powerslamming him down. Zema writhes away and grips his back as he struggles to his feet once more. They stare at each other as Matanza sneers, storming forward and grabbing for him- just to feel his arm get twisted up in a reverse armbar, Matanza surprised by the torque that Zema has and how much pain is stabbing down his wrist, numbing his fingers.

Using his other arm, he grips Zema and powerbombs him, pinning him... but Zema kicks out at two, scrambling away as soon as he can breathe again. The two men stare at each other before Matanza lunges after him again, just to receive a jumping DDT for his troubles. He's laying there, gazing up the lights, still shocked that Zema has this much fight in him. The breath is forced from his lungs by a 630 senton, the man still prone on the mat when Zema lands a 450 splash, grabbing his ribs as he throws himself back over Matanza and pins him, choking down a breath when he actually feels the three count more than hears it. As soon as his brain catches up with reality, he's off of Matanza and gone, scrambling up the ramp and collapsing down as he's declared the winner, the referee looking relieved to follow him out this far to lift his arm in victory.

Matanza's roar of unbelievable anger follows Zema as he dashes backstage to relative safety.


	44. chapter 44

Stephanie exhales, eager to get started with Team Work for the week. For one thing, Seth Rollins is not around, still nursing his rib injury, and for another there's no Mick Foley looking over her shoulder, questioning each decision she may make. She's in such a good mood that she even goes and personally tacks up the latest match sheet, reading it over one more time before turning and almost skipping back to her office before she catches herself and walks calmly back.

The first match of the night sees Lucha Underground's El Dragon Azteca defeat Moose, his speed just a bit too much for the larger man's power as he feeds on the energy of the crowd and continues fighting until Moose is sprawled out, vulnerable to the 450 splash and pin. A tag team match with Nick Jackson and Big E facing off against Takahashi and Cedric Alexander is next, Cedric barely getting to do anything before Takahashi lifts Big E, slings him over his shoulder so he's sprawled out against Takahashi's back and piledrives him into the mat, a feat of strength that makes the crowd exclaim and murmur as he pins one third of the WWE tag team champions.

Stephanie can't help but smirk at the next match- one of her favorites, and against Dalton Castle no less, her recollection of the man leaving a bad taste in her mouth. He'd all but made a joke out of joining WWE years back, so of course. A gauntlet match. Oh sure, he fights, his numerous suplexes and surprisingly hardhitting style despite his flashy attire, attitude, and those Boys enough to hold him against Matt Hardy, Prince Puma, even Bobby Lashley, who he exchanges suplex after suplex with before surprising everyone by successfully lifting him for the Bang-A-Rang. But by then, he's fading. Defeating three people in a row leaves him staggered, barely responsive to the fretful Boys on the outside. Apollo Crews is far from Stephanie's favorite competitor, his constant smiling wears at her nerves, but today he is definitely not smiling. He's focused and seething, the last few weeks clearly not going his way. Dalton barely takes one step towards him before he's being lifted up and powerbombed back down, Apollo getting the win and his first point in the contest.

Kofi Kingston turns things around for New Day by defeating Eli Drake next, powering through everything the man throws at him just to hit a Boom Drop a few minutes into it. Matt Jackson takes out Aron Rex with a series of superkicks and ear-ringing blows that leaves the man unable to focus properly before setting him up for a wheelbarrow facebuster, which takes him completely out of the equation long enough for a pin. Maria defeats Carmella next, the crowd not sure how to react the entire match as the two fairly unpopular women fight until Maria rolls Carmella up, using her inexperience and her tights against her.

Despite herself, Stephanie can't help but be enthused for the next match- Johnny Mundo vs Neville. The two lithe men start slow, feeling each other out, swipes of punches here, kicks there, eventually moving onto the more risky stuff, moonsaults and enzuigiris off of the ropes. After Neville dodges one of Johnny's kicks, they face each other and equal smirks cover their faces as they nod in appreciation at each other, both quickly kneeling down in preparation for what's to come. It's full-tilt from there, the audience holding their breath as one when the two men move from spot to spot, diving around the ring, racing around and exchanging more blows, more kicks, knees to the face. Mundo gets a lucky shot in at one point, sending Neville onto the apron before dropkicking him out entirely and then flying out after him, his body rotating in midair before he impacts, sending the man down onto the mat below. Mundo is up and back in the ring before Neville can even think straight again, but he's quick to follow, and they resume once more, this seeming more like a race than a wrestling match as they struggle to outdo each other, avoid more and more damage with each attack. It's just one misstep, one mistake, and Johnny's attempt at hitting another enzuigiri gets him suplexed, Neville using the moment to go up top and fly- gravity is suspended for a moment until he lands across Mundo's midsection, his Red Arrow landing perfectly.

Once the bell rings, he rolls clear and the two men stare at each other as Johnny slowly sits up, clenching his fingers against his side, struggling to breathe. "Damn," Johnny grunts, forcing himself up. "I want to do that again someday." He holds his hand out to Neville in a sign of rare, legitimate respect, and Neville hesitates only a moment before meeting him half way, giving him a solid shake.

"Me too," he agrees, eyes focused on John as he lifts Neville's hand up in victory before rolling out of the ring to give him his moment.

Laurel Van Kress is TNA's newest knockout. She's a tough thing, puts up more of a fight than most would expect, but when Bayley wrestles her, it doesn't take too long for the girl to snag her, hit a quick Bayley to Belly, and get the win.

TNA's bad luck continues when DJZ faces off against Jey Uso. He tries all he can, ground attacks, flying attacks, whatever he thinks of, but Jey brushes him off like an annoying fly each time, his leg clearly the man's target. Why, he's not sure, possibly just testing human endurance before his tag title match at the next WWE PPV, but either way, it pisses Zema off, especially when he can barely put weight on his knee after a couple of fierce chopblocks that leaves him crying out in agony. He continues trying to fight on, never one to give up, but Jey is larger, more vicious, and before Zema knows it, he's down once more, staring into the crowd as his knee is twisted, held at an angle that knees aren't supposed to go, and he has no choice but to tap out, tears of pain and anger streaking down his sweaty face as the referee tries to get Jey to leave without attacking Zema again. Somehow it works and Zema curls up in the middle of the ring, trying to ease some of the pressure off of his knee, wishing that Robbie or Jessie were here.

Sami Zayn vs Bobby Fish helps to distract the audience from what they'd just seen, the two men putting on a clinic that eventually sees Sami scoop Bobby up and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb, pinning him to the crowd's appreciation. Cesaro takes out Viktor with a series of uppercuts before trapping him in the Neutralizer, defeating him. Konnor turns things around by taking on Drew McIntyre, still suffering from a hard knock he'd taken a few weeks ago, and defeating him easily enough by flapjacking him and then kicking him hard in the back of the head, dazing him long enough to get the three count.

A handicap match following this sees Nakamura, all wacky hand motions and confident grins, partner up with Dragon Lee to face Michael Elgin. It's a brutal match, Strong Style meshing well with Elgin's natural fighting style, and Dragon Lee doesn't see a second of action as Nakamura is content to handle all of it on his own, eventually downing Elgin with a vicious series of elbows and kicks after wiggling free from a delayed vertical suplex attempt, the Kinshasa enough to put an end to the match once Elgin is staggering and out of it.

Rich Swann defeats ACH and PJ Black next, chuckling and moonwalking around the ring afterwards as the crowd slowly warms up to him, cheering the match they'd just watched. There's a series of Beat the Clock matches back to back next, Sheamus setting the time to beat against Pentagon Dark at 4:59 after one too many brogue kicks leaves the man all but unconscious on the mat. TJP fails to outrun the clock against Jack Evans, but Jay Lethal _just_ 4eakes out a victory against AJ Styles in 4:48 after two Lethal Injections back to back, AJ barely able to stand after an intense back and forth match leading up to the finish.

Kyle O'Reilly defeats Jimmy Uso next, quickly fighting through his pinpoint attacks on his leg, kicking Uso away every time he gets too close, eventually twisting him up in a triangle choke when he gets too close once more, and digging the move in until Jimmy passes out, the ref calling it as soon as Jimmy fails to respond to the count of three.

Following this is a triple threat match between Gail Kim, Natalya and Taya Valkyri that sees Gail quickly take control after kicking at Natalya's face, the woman still sensitive after losing both of her teeth in a match over the weekend. She rolls out of the ring and waves it off, holding her jaw protectively as she walks back up the ramp, bailing on the match. It's only a matter of time before Gail hits Eat Defeat on Taya instead, pinning her with a confident look on her face as she peers up the ramp at the still retreating Natalya.

The main event is an Elimination Chamber match, Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, Jeff Hardy, Colt Cabana, Jay White and Kushida facing off. Colt Cabana and Bennett start off, the others in the pods, but the bell's barely won when Bennett's on top of him, pressing his forearm against Colt's face, spitting insults and hissed threats. Colt punches, kicks, does all he can to fight back, but the first pod has barely opened, allowing Adam Cole in, before he's eliminated from the match. The former Kingdom brethern brawl, Adam Cole holding the upperhand for the most part, ignoring Bennett's almost clumsy attempt at offense, when Jeff Hardy enters. They turn their attention onto him, actually working together for a short while, but he grabs Bennett and hits the twist of fate and, when he pins him, Cole stands by and watches, undisturbed by his former partner's sudden elimination.

It leaves Jeff distracted and open for an easily elimination as Cole lifts him, hitting the neckbreaker solidly against his knee. As he pins the man, he listens, perplexed, to Jeff rambling on and on about being obsolete under his breath. It's a relief when the man staggers out of the ring and up the ramp. Kushida is next, the two men brawling brutally, Cole barely able to catch his breath before the NJPW's star's offense, but eventually Cole gets his leg up, kicks the man solidly, and then hoists him up for the Coleateral, which he then repeats the action just to land a vicious X-Plex, and then pinning the man. He's so pleased with himself that he doesn't hear the last pod open, he doesn't hear the steps sneaking towards him. He doesn't realize he's being rolled up until it's too late, until the bell's ringing, until his chance at victory, at a point, has slipped through his fingers. Jay White has successfully defeated him.

All Adam Cole can do is stare on in disbelief.


	45. chapter 45

Stephanie tilts her head as she taps her pen against the night's card, lost in thought. Raw is slowly losing ground against Smackdown, which eats at her that her brother is doing something just a little better than her. She exhales in annoyance and stares at the purple Team Work logo on the wall in front of her, biting her lip. _At least this tends to go alright,_ she thinks, putting her papers together and going to give it to the tech to alert the wrestlers of their plans for the evening.

Zack Ryder comes to the ring, trying to hype up the crowd as he enters the ring. He's on the top rope, reading a couple of signs until Adam Cole's music hits and he makes his way down, climbing between the ropes and staring Zack down as he sheds his shirt, stretching out his muscles until the bell rings. Zack immediately snags him in a lock up and they struggle for dominance until Adam trips Zack by sweeping his legs out from under him, holding him down until Zack kicks out at 1, scrambling to his feet and grimacing at Adam's smug expression. When Adam approaches again, Zack surprises him with a dropkick, using the brief momentum to grab his arm and twist it around, putting as much pressure on it as he could to inspire a tap out or at least weaken him, aware of his prior arm injury.

Adam, however, fights out by kneeing Zack in the head and following up with a Shining Wizard before scooping him up and hitting a Bridging X-Plex that leaves Zack dazed enough to be pinned for the three count. Adam exhales and gets up, extending a hand to Zack after the referee raises his hand in victory. Zack eyes him suspiciously for a moment before taking hold and pulling himself up, surprised pleasantly when Adam shakes his hand. Zack nods at him and leaves him to his win and his points, shoulders slumped in soreness and defeat.

To everyone's surprise, Darren Young defeats Matt Hardy after a bizarre match that's mostly just Matt screaming DELETE at the other man between punches and forearms, until Bob Backlund approaches Reby Sky on the outside, distracting the Broken man and leaving him susceptible to Darren's snap suplex that he then sweeps into a crossface chickenwing that causes him to tap out after a fruitless struggle.

Kane faces off with Matanza next, the two monsters brawling until Kane gets the upperhand and chokeslams him down, pinning him. Nikki Bella defeats Gail Kim with her revised Rack Attack, and Bray Wyatt ends Luke Gallow with a quick kiss and Sister Abigail into the mat.

The next match is a six man elimination featuring Goto, Mark Briscoe, DJZ, Mojo Rawley, Karl Anderson and Kyle O'Reilly. Mark Briscoe is the first eliminated after Mojo Rawley overhypes him with repeated shoulderblocks and leaves him vulnerable to one of Goto's sideslams, quickly pinned thereafter. Mojo's hype doesn't last, however, when DJ Z runs in and knees him hard in the face before DDTing him. Goto gets taken out next, Karl Anderson sneaking in while he's distracted from exchanging blows with Kyle O'Reilly and hitting him with a brainbuster, before pinning for the three. DJZ and Kyle start fighting then, both struggling for the upperhand, when Karl grabs Zema as well, hitting the Gun Stunn and pinning him with O'Reilly watches, rolling his eyes. Once Karl and Kyle start to fight, however, O'Reilly quickly gets the upperhand, his rough strikes making it impossible for Karl to keep up. Eventually his staggering works against him and Kyle snaps him up in a Guillotine choke until he passes out, determined not to tap out until it was too late and everything went dark.

Following this, Xavier Wood wrestles Jason Jordan, unable to overcome the other man's Olympic atheletism, quickly falling to his many variations of slams. Brandon Sutter defeats Neville after trying to alter one of his many highflying moves into a bodyslam, landing awkwardly and dazing him long enough for the three count.

The next match is a female Ultimate X, Ivelisse, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks and Naomi all staring up at the red X hanging over the ring as they duck between the ropes. Naomi and Sasha watch as Ivelisse and Alexa begin fighting in the middle of the ring, raising eyebrows at each other before locking up and starting to exchange blows, trying to get the upperhand to get enough distance to begin climbing to get the victory. Alexa grabs Ivelisse by the hair and slams her down against the mat before climbing the turnbuckles and grabbing the ropes that meet in the middle, shimmying forward... until Naomi sweeps Sasha's legs out from under her and goes to catch Alexa, moving quickly until they're side by side, Naomi using her long legs to kick Alexa repeatedly until she's forced to let go, dangling from the ropes for a few moments before dropping, almost on top of Sasha.

Ivelisse climbs next, swinging wildly to get rid of Naomi, but she holds on until Sasha joins in, diving from the top rope and spearing Naomi off, leaving Ivelisse to inch forward just to get intercepted by Alexa on the other side, kicked off and leaving Ms. Bliss almost right next to the X. She's so distracted inching towards it, however, that she doesn't notice when Naomi recovers and rushes back up, inching forward and choking her out with her legs until Alexa lets go, Naomi slinking forward just enough to grab the X. Grinning, she drops to the mat and holds it high, looking around at her displeased opponents, unphased by their jealous stares.

A lengthy brawl between AJ Styles and Jay Briscoe following, the two men fighting as hard as they can, exchanging punches and kicks with as much ferocity as they can. In the end, AJ's cunning isn't enough and Jay brushes off his attempts at gaining that three count, pinning his arms at his sides and then planting him with the Jay-Driller before covering him for the three.

Heath Slater comes to the ring next, looking around with a pleased grin when the crowd reacts positively to him for perhaps the first time in his career. His opponent is NJPW's Honma and though his grin doesn't slip, he quickly slips into focus, shaking his wrists out and trying to prepare for the match ahead. Although Heath lands some solid knees and kicks, Honma is always one step ahead and before Heath can try his DDT, Honma lands a flying headbutt and then floats over into the armtrap somersault cradle, Heath having no choice but to submit as his vision spots out, aware that as important as this competition is, he has to stay healthy to be a good partner to Rhyno.

A tag match follows with the odd mix of Makabe and Baron Corbin wrestling Sami Zayn and Tony Nese, the two men not getting along well at all, which leaves Sami vulnerable to Baron Corbin's rough offense, Nese barely reacting with anything but disgust when Sami gets pinned after a brutal End of Days.

The final match of the night is a battle royal that pits Brother Nero, Rhyno, Braun Strowman, Yano, Aron Rex, Eddie Edwards, Big E, Mandrews, Jack Swagger, Cesaro, Sheamus, Brian Kendrick, Brian Cage and Chad Gable against each other. They all cluster in groups, brawling and exchanging punches until Cage comes close to eliminating Braun Strowman, everyone slowly realizing who the biggest danger might be in this match, working together to eliminate him. Big E is taken out next with a solid clothesline over the top rope, gaping at Brian Kendrick, who laughs at him before sauntering back into the match. Braun Strowman takes Eddie Edwards out next, all but throwing him over the top rope. This leads to a similar reaction as earlier with Rhyno, Yano, Swagger, Gable and Cesaro working together to strongarm Strowman over and out.

Aron Rex gets taken out next, Mandrews' speed surprising him as he runs in and dropkicks him clean over. Brother Nero gets eliminated afterwards, Yano overpowering him quickly and sending him out. Mandrews gets eliminated next, Rhyno powerlifting him up just to toss him out of the ring. Jack Swagger goes next, Cesaro uppercutting him repeatedly until he staggers, one more hit all it takes to send him wobbling over the rope, off of the apron and onto the mat below. Brian Kendrick eliminates Gable next, kicking him into the ropes and then smashing his knee into his face, flipping him up and over in one fluid movement. He's still standing there, smug about it, when Sheamus hits him from behind with a brogue kick, eliminating him.

Yano is next after Cesaro swings him into dizziness, Rhyno standing nearby and grabbing him when he struggles upwards, slinging him over the top rope with ease. Cesaro is far from pleased at losing this elimination and quickly exchanges blows with Rhyno, his uppercuts meeting Rhyno's forearms with a brutality that encourages Sheamus to stay back. Rhyno falters first, then surges forward, trying to get the upperhand, just to get rocked by a solid strike across the face. Cesaro hits him again and again and again, finally sending him against the ropes. Before he can eliminate Rhyno, though, this opportunity is taken from him too when Sheamus lunges forward and hits another Brogue Kick, sending Cesaro out as he had Kendrick only minutes earlier. Cesaro looks up in disgusted shock at his forced tag partner, Sheamus laughing wholeheartedly at him... until Rhyno tries to lift him up and out. Sheamus kicks him away and regains his balance, shifting aside and clutching him by the head, throwing him over the ropes. While Rhyno clings to the turnbuckle, trying to regain his breath, Sheamus lunges forward and kicks him off, sending him down next to Cesaro. Banging his chest in victory, Sheamus celebrates like he'd just won the lottery and been named king all in the same ten minute span while Cesaro stares on angrily.


	46. chapter 46

"Just a little advanced notice," Stephanie tells the group of men lurking around, waiting for the week's Team Work to begin. "I've decided to do things a bit differently this cycle. Whoever loses their matches next week loses a point. So those with only one point will be eliminated until the next cycle begins." She pauses for a moment, examining the wrestlers before her, taking in their worried, displeased reactions, murmuring to their neighbors or just glowering at the nearest surface. "Any questions? No? Ok, good, go out into the hallway to see the card for the evening then."

As they file out, she smirks and taps her fingers against her arm, pleased with herself and their response to it.

The first match is Neville facing off with Luke Harper, the larger man brutalizing Neville for awhile, his highflying either getting stopped before he can really get going, or Harper just grabbing him out of midair and slamming him into the mat, slowly ridding him of energy and oxygen alike. Harper's just gotten him into the gator roll when Neville, urged on by the crowd, starts to fight back, kicking Harper, striking him with knees, doing whatever he can to survive just a little longer. Once Harper lets him go, he scrambles to his feet and DDTs Harper to the mat before twisting up and over the top rope, hitting his 450 Splash and successfully pinning the man. He lays there a moment, in awe, before realizing that he's still in range of Harper's attack. Rolling out of the ring quickly, he stumbles back up the ramp, arm lifted in victory as he smirks back at Harper's glare.

Next is a five way women's match with Sexy Star vs Naomi vs Bayley vs Sasha Banks vs Gail Kim. Hard to keep track of the action almost from the start with the five women brawling, trading opponents and then brawling some more, the crowd watches on in hope for their various favorites to win, Naomi quickly knocking Gail out of the ring and turning her attention to Sasha as Star and Bayley exchange punches on the other side of the ring. Gail attempts to recover just to get dropkicked back out by Sasha, just for Naomi to grab her and attempt to pin her shoulders to the mat. Star makes the save, however, kicking Naomi hard between the shoulder blades. Bayley snags her and hits a Bayley to Belly, attempting the same to Naomi just to get reversed into the corner, which allows Sasha to situate her over the ropes, climb up and over her, hitting her knees into Bayley's midsection. Naomi's just moved to do something when Star returns and dropkicks her away, sideswiping Sasha and sending her out of the ring to join Gail. She then turns her attention to Bayley and suplexes her brutally, sweeping over into a pin and winning the match while the recovering women gape on in shock at how quickly the match had concluded.

The Wyatt family's bad luck continues as Famous B defeats Bray Wyatt with a Flashing Lights Superkick. Next is a tag match seeing Cody Rhodes teaming with Shibata vs Caprice Coleman and Moose. Although there's a bit of a language barrier between Shibata and Cody, Caprice and Moose have no love lost and their team meshes poorly, leading into a quick victory after Cody hits Crossrhodes on Caprice.

The match that follows sees Roman Reigns facing off with ROH's Hanson. Roman tries, he does, but between the crowd being all for Hanson and Hanson's flexibility despite his size startling the former world champion, Roman is quickly overwhelmed, his Superman punches blocked, his spears reversed into underhook powerbombs, and the finish comes when Hanson hits repeated Spin Kicks before moonsaulting onto Roman and then pinning him.

While the crowd is still buzzing over that, Kenny King defeats Pentagon Dark by the very smallest of margins, the evil man staring up at him with clearly evil thoughts running through his mind. The next match shows Sami Zayn facing off with Jay Lethal, the two men feeling each other out before settling into an all-out brawl, punches leading into forearms into bodyslams into helluva kicks and attempts at the Lethal Injection, just for Sami to eventually hit the Blue Thunder Bomb, immediately pinning Jay and keeping him down long enough for the three count.

Next is an Ultimate X match pitting Nick Jackson, TJ Perkins, Matt Jackson, Dolph Ziggler, Titus O'Neil and James Ellsworth against each other. There's a moment before the bell rings that Nick, Matt and TJ all stare at each other, knowing smirks on their faces, before they turn and target Ziggler, O'Neil and Ellsworth individually, some sort of brotherhood forming between them from all that they'd gone through while in TNA fueling their decisions. Ziggler and Matt Jackson fight in an attempt to get the upperhand while TJ works over Ellsworth and Nick Jackson struggles with Titus. How Ellsworth gets away, TJ isn't sure but one minute he blinks and the next, the innovative, annoying man is already half up the pole, shimmying over to the bright red X in the middle. "No you don't," TJ exclaims, determined to press pause on James' chances, and climbs after him, grabbing his legs and pushing him off, sending him crashing between Ziggler and Matt, where he lays. Nick takes this distraction to clothesline Titus clear out of the ring but his momentum takes him out too and TJ doesn't see them again.

TJ's fingers have just grazed the X when someone grabs him and everything shifts, his sense of gravity off as he hits the mat below. All he can do is watch as Matt and Ziggler continue exchanging kicks and hits from the corner of the crisscrossing ropes overhead, Matt eventually kicking Dolph with enough force that he almost lands on top of TJ when he falls, allowing Matt the opportunity to shimmy over, grab the X and release it officially, claiming the win.

After the disappointed men and a gleeful Matt Jackson leave the ring, the crisscrossed ropes overhead are removed to return the ring to normal for a triple threat match that R-Truth walks out the winner of after hitting his scissorkick on Sin Cara, Jimmy Uso down on the outside after one of Sin Cara's diving planchas to the mat below.

The main event is a battle royal, the ring quickly filling up with Lince Durado, Kofi Kingston, Epico, Aron Rex, Braun Strowman, Darren Young, Mojo Rawley, Primo, DJ Z, Seth Rollins, Jack Swagger, Wagner Jr, Zack Ryder and Rowe. The fourteen men quickly start to brawl once the bell rings, desperate to get the upperhand before the competition grows tougher starting next week. Rowe has ahold of Zack, ignoring his struggles as he sees out of the corner of his eye that Strowman has turned his attention to Mojo, who is currently exchanging blows with Aron Rex. Rowe just won't let go and there's nothing for it but Zack to watch as Mojo is easily eliminated, gaping helplessly in at his tag partner as he finally claps his arms against Rowe's ears, getting free just to meet a solid punch from Seth, hitting the mat with a huff of air. Once he recovers, most of the others have circled Braun, trying to find an opening. He provides it by dropkicking Braun and staggering him into the ropes, leaving him vulnerable to a group attack that sends him over and out.

Darren is next eliminated by Jack Swagger but Zack barely has a minute to turn, try to find a good place to insert himself back into the match, when he feels a rough gust of air and then arms slamming into him on either side as Epico and Primo double team him, his feet hitting the floor as he then drops onto his back and blinks uselessly, realizing he's not outlasted Mojo that long. He's just slammed his fist against the mat when he ducks aside, Rowe sending DJ Z out to join Zack. They look at each other woefully before getting up and trudging backstage, quiet but sharing in their disappointment. Back inside, Seth is fighting Lince, trying to keep him from going up-top, when Rowe runs in and grabs them both, slinging them over- Seth hangs on but then Lince chops him in the chest with his free hand and Seth, still drowning in pain after Owens' actions on Raw, loses his grip and hits the mat, immediately twisting away and grabbing at his mid-back, yelling out in agony. Lince doesn't last, however, as Rowe punches him hard in the face and sends him down, dazed.

Jack Swagger eliminates Kofi after weakening him with slams and brutal stomps to his spine. Rowe catches him, however, and sends him flying over the top rope, clearly losing patience with all of this and just wanting another point to his name. Wagner Jr. also suffers from Rowe's brutal offense, gritting his teeth at lasting this long just to be kicked out so simply. Primo leaps out of nowhere and grabs onto Rowe, trying to get some sort of advantage against the man who has taken out so many people, when he realizes that Aron Rex has Epico- clotheslines him over, then knees him in the face, sending him out of the sight. As Aron turns, it's as though Primo is forgotten, the two men facing off with him still sprawled out across Rowe's shoulder, wriggling uselessly. Primo suspects Rowe is knocked off center with him on his shoulder because Rex gets the upperhand early, elbowing Rowe with everything he has, again and again and again until Rowe staggers, getting winded the longer the match draws on. He finally drops Primo onto the apron and Primo waits and watches for his opportunity, gripping the top rope and tipping it as Rowe falls into it after another dropkick, his momentum sending him over... into Primo and taking him with him, as they fall to the mat below and eliminates each other.

Primo curses in Spanish as he stares up at the lights overhead, not even needing to look to know how Rex is celebrating. "Dammit!" he snaps, giving up and accepting that he'll have to return to shilling watches and Puerto Rico travel brochures now.

In the ring, Aron smirks at the crowd and lifts his arm in celebration, his grin just this side of manic.


	47. chapter 47

Stephanie stares at the new spreadsheet she'd made up to keep track of the points, making it easier to add and remove them as people win or lose. "This is going to be fun," she sighs, tapping a couple of keys. "I should've done this a lot sooner."

The evening begins with Cass facing off against Chad Gable, their tag partners lurking around outside of the ring, not too concerned about the other cheating but just wanting to be there for their partners. Gable does his best, even hitting a couple of bridging suplexes that rock Cass for a two count, but in the end, Cass outlasts him, landing a solid boot to the face before elbowing him in the mid-section and pinning him, Jordan's disappointment visible on his face while Enzo half-dances, half-runs around Cass, bumping fists with him before they leave American Alpha to regroup and make their way slowly backstage.

Baron Corbin defeats Bo Dallas, sneering down at him before grabbing his "Believe in Bo" sign and slamming it over his knee, shattering it into little pieces before marching up the ramp with a smirk.

Eddie Edwards faces off with Spirit Squad's Kenny next, staring him down and shaking out his wrists. Fueled by the confidence brought on by his recently winning the TNA heavyweight title, Eddie fights the man with everything he has- suplexes, dropkicks, forearm shivers, even a little high risk offense here and there... but somehow Kenny keeps finding a way to fight back, slowly wearing Eddie out until just one mistake finishes the match, Eddie eating Kenny's suplexes and diving clotheslines, before a snap swinging neckbreaker takes him down for the three count.

Next is a triple threat match between Brother Nero, EVIL and Matanza. Matanza gets taken out early by Nero's risky offense, using his body like a lawndart and sending Matanza outside, leaving him dazed. Nero and EVIL face off but, as soon as Nero tries to do the same thing to him, EVIL responds with an STO and pins him, the crowd unsure how to respond once the announcement is made. Prince Puma and Miz wrestle next, Miz's attempts at a neckbreaker getting reversed into a kick against his temple, Mike collapsing until Puma hoists him back up and piledrives him before slinking up to the top rope, hitting a 630 Senton and defeating him.

Tony Nese defeats Spirit Squad's Mikey in a quick match, overpowering him easily and slamming him almost clean out of the ring before dragging him back into the middle and pinning him. To the disappointment of the Boys around the ring, Drago defeats Dalton Castle after reversing his German suplex into a flip piledriver. Punisher Martinez tries to hold his own against Big E but he quickly fails, Big E lifting him into a belly to belly suplex before going to the top rope and splashing all of his weight against his chest, pinning him.

The second triple threat match of the night sees Okada, Brian Kendrick and Goldust coming to the ring, stretching and doing what they can to prepare for this upcoming match. Goldust stands back and watches as Brian and Okada brawl, Brian not intimidated by how much taller Okada is than he. Okada tires of the repetition and throws Brian back before drawing him back in, trying to hit an early Rainmaker just for Brian to sling back and hit him with a solid forearm that rocks him. Dropkick followed by a head scissors that sends Okada up and over and then Goldust introduces himself with a solid punch to the underside of Brian's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards before Goldust clotheslines him over the top rope, this exchange giving Okada just enough time to get back up and lift Goldust, piledriving him.

Brian scrambles back in while Okada is trying to catch his breath, pinning Goldust and waiting for the three count... until Okada kicks him between his shoulderblades, Goldust rolling out of the ring and trying to recover while Okada and Kendrick fight for dominance, Okada eventually landing another Rainmaker, about to attempt another pin when Goldust re-enters and grabs him around the head, downing him with the Final Cut, Okada down and out when Kendrick rushes at Goldust, just to get powerslamed into the mat. _This_ affords Goldust the pin and he lifts his hands in celebration while Okada stares on in shock, just missing rescuing the match for himself.

In a rebirth of their old ECW rivalry, Matt Hardy defeats Mark Henry with an elevated Twist of Fate, laughing in his face before leaving the ring. The next match pits Dana against Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax, the two bigger women trying to go at it and constantly swatting Alexa away until she tries to dropkick them, Nia immediately grabbing her and slinging her out of the ring entirely. Dana laughs but the two quickly get serious, exchanging blows and looking for the upperhand until finally Dana slams Nia into the corner and chokes her with her boot while doing a handstand, waiting until Nia staggers out and then following it up with a Fireman's carry slam into a three count.

Next, Braun Strowman quickly defeats Kyle O'Reilly, spewing more venom about wanting _real_ competition while the ROH competitor writhes at his feet. Somehow R-Truth holds his own in a handicap match against Colt Cabana and Naito, catching Colt square in the jaw with his heel and pinning him while Naito looks on from the outside, unimpressed with his temporary partner's inability to do anything significant in the match.

Michael Bennett sneers as he comes down to the ring, Maria on his arm, to wrestle Zack Ryder, who looks confident and barely blinks at Bennett's wife's presence. They lock up in the middle of the ring and Bennett tries to sweep his legs out from under him but Zack avoids, slamming him down to the ring and standing over him, arms outstretches. "What's up, bro?" he demands, almost laughing as Bennett scrambles back to his feet and goes after Zack, just to be met with knees to the face. Maria grants Bennett the distraction after Zack keeps fighting back, the ref and Zack both looking at her incredulously and allowing Bennett the opportunity at a rollup from behind, but Zack kicks out at 2 and then lands a forearm right to Bennett's face, cornering him and hitting the Broski Boot. Bennett struggles to reverse the Rough Ryder but Zack hangs on and uses every inch of his strength to land it again, pinning Bennett and getting that much-needed three count, Zack's teeth flashing as he beams at the crowd, at Maria, even at the disgust on Bennett's face.

The main event is an Elimination Chamber, Lashley, BJ Whitmer, Seth Rollins and Darren Young all in chambers while Drew Gulak and Jason Jordan start the match off. Drew greets Jason with a solid set of punches to the face as soon as the bell rings, and Jason blocks further shots by elbowing Gulak in the jaw, dropkicking him away. Once space is put between them, he wipes at his face to make sure he's not bleeding before hooking his arms around Gulak's waist and slamming him backwards, bridging up into a pin that's not as fluid as Gable's but still effective, until Gulak kicks out and rolls away. They glare at each other a moment before lunging at each other again, Gulak diving Jason back and hitting a belly to back backbreaker on him, leaving him writhing around grabbing at his back. Gulak has just grabbed him, pulling him into a schoolboy, when the countdown begins to sound to show that a chamber will soon open to let someone out.

Lashley's chamber opens just as Jason kicks out, the two of them barely getting to their feet in time to get clotheslined down by the large man. Gulak gets up in time to get speared almost out of his shoes, Lashley pinning him easily. Jason, however, isn't willing to go down so easily and, although his back is still hurting, he's up and ready to fight to last until the next chamber opens, meeting Lashley with a knee to the face and then trying to strong arm him back into a suplex, but Lashley plants his legs and sends Jason over his shoulder before kicking him in the back, making him arch away in fresh agony. He's still slumped against the mat when Lashley powers him up and hits a spinebuster on him, Jason digging his nails into the rough fabric before Lashley hoists him up once more, suplexing him back. Bridging into a pin, Jason is still laying there, gasping for breath as the ref hits the three count.

Lashley paces until the next chamber is open, Darren Young venturing out... just to be met with a roll of Lashley's eyes and a spear that downs him immediately, Lashley pinning him with absolutely no hesitation. BJ Whitmer is the next out and lands a running big boot, sending Lashley down and going up top to hit a diving headbutt, but this misses and he rolls away, grabbing at his head and neck, breathing heavily. As soon as he gets up, Lashley shoulderblocks him before forcing him back up and slinging him up for a fallaway slam. Not done beating him up yet, he tugs Whitmer back up to his feet and lands another suplex before stomping him hard in the chest. Whitmer rolls away, trying to shield himself, when Lashley kicks him in the back. Finally the next chamber opens and Seth enters, kneeing him hard in the face before sweeping his legs out from under him, scrambling to the top rope and landing a diving high knee before forcing Lashley up and hitting the Sling Blade on him before attempting a frog splash, landing heavily as Lashley rolls away.

Seth groans and grips his midsection, struggling to get back up to his feet when Whitmer recovers enough to grab him, scoop powerslamming him just to get met with a delayed vertical suplex by Lashley. Seth is hurting but somehow he fits together the energy to grip Lashley under the arms and drop him down into a pedigree, tangling him around into a pin. He doesn't have time to celebrate, however, when Whitmer grabs him and spikes him down with a leg lariat. Grabbing Seth by the legs, he pulls him into the middle of the ring and rolls him over, climbing up to the top and landing a solid frog splash across Seth's back, Seth scrabbling at his back as pain stabs up his spine. Whitmer rolls him over and pins him, eyes widening in smug shock as he realizes he's won and gained a point into the contest.

Laughing at the unhappy crowd, he lifts his arms in celebration and offers another couple of quick kicks at Seth before leaving the ring when the ref starts nagging at him.


	48. chapter 48

"Go to the next house, girls. I'm right behind you," Stephanie calls to her daughters, quickly glancing down at her phone as the girls run ahead to the next house, chanting trick or treat when the door opens. She taps through the latest card for Team Work before authorizing it and quickly powering her phone down before racing after her girls, amused by their costumes and eager to enjoy the rest of Halloween without Raw and Team Work lingering over her.

The first match of the night pits Heath Slater vs Sin Cara. Heath stares at the latest addition to Raw's cruiserweight division, uncertain how to begin, when Sin Cara locks up with him. They exchange punches, Heath's desperation and determination to win for his kids bleeding through with each hit he lands. He's just twisted Sin Cara up for a DDT when he feels gravity shift before he's planted into the mat, Sin Cara quickly going up top and diving down on top of him, landing with a solid thud that takes all of the air out of Heath and leaves him down long enough for the three count.

After a lengthy, brutal match that leaves the crowd on the edge of their seat, Cody defeats Kenny Omega after floating through an attempt at a German suplex and locking in an Inverted Indian deathlock until he passes out, refusing to tap out. Ishii faces off against Braxton Sutter next, the audience clearly expecting a solidly onesided fight... just for Sutter to win after misjudging a knee and hitting Ishii hard enough to knock him out, quickly pinning him and claiming the point for his own, the crowd booing loud enough to make it hard to hear the ring announcer as she clarifies the winner.

Once the ring is cleared out, Ishii helped backstage, AJ Styles makes his way to the ring, followed by DJ Z. The two men stare at each other, never really having wrestled one-on-one before. Zema shakes his wrists out before lunging forward, locking up with the current WWE World Heavyweight champion. AJ swipes his feet out from under him and hits an elbow, but when he lifts Zema up to chain his offence further, he fights out and punches AJ solidly before diving into the ropes and back, clotheslining AJ down and kneeing him in the face. Going up top, Zema's just dived off to crossbody AJ when he takes a solid dropkick to the midsection, doubling over and wheezing. AJ climbs out of the ring and sets up for the phenomenal forearm just to get grabbed out of midair and dragged into a crucifix armbar, wrenching back as best as he can with an injured arm. Which it seems to work until AJ scrambles and gets enough of an angle to rear back and knee Zema in the face repeatedly until he releases him, returning once more for the phenomenal forearm, this time hitting it and pinning Zema for real, winning the match.

Laurel Van Ness wrestles Charlotte next, taking advantage of Charlotte's general soreness after the hell in the cell match she'd just competed in the day prior, weakening her back until she lands a springboard hurricanrana, pinning Charlotte and leaving her and the crowd gaping as she celebrates up the ramp. Jason Jordan wrestles Rich Swann next, unimpressed with the man's dancing or his risky highflying attacks. It happens so fluidly that Swann couldn't have expected Jordan to go from laying down to climbing to his feet and landing a solid suplex on Swann, tangling him up in a pin for the win.

The following match is a gauntlet match that sees Mojo stream through Cedric Alexander, Goldust and Karl Anderson, way too hyped for any of them to actually hold on long enough to eak out a victory. Mojo doesn't seem too concerned when Enzo Amore is his final opponent, especially when Cass doesn't accompany him to the ring. This underestimation gets him in the end as Enzo possibly even out-hypes Mojo, shuffling around and hitting punches and elbows, leaving Mojo struggling just to get any sort of offense in that's effective. He's wavering after a solid kick to the face, gasping for air while Enzo dances to the crowd's chanting, getting them to react even stronger to him. Mojo shakes his head and lunges forward, trying to grab ahold of him when Enzo squirms under him and climbs the top, hitting a DDT that plants Mojo facefirst into the mat. Mojo stares up at the lights overhead, confused over what just hit him, while Enzo runs in a circle around the ring, celebrating his win.

Bo Dallas stands in the ring, looking unimpressed as Okada's music hits, money drifting from the sky and raining into the crowd. Bo can barely get a punch in, Okada out-maneuvering him on everything until they end up on the outside, Okada clearly listening to the ref's count carefully as he drags Bo around and continuing the offense, until knocking Bo near his remade sign. Bo grabs the sign and rolls into the ring, the referee yelling at him and grabbing for the sign... just for Bo to kick Okada low and sending him down to his knees, Bo hitting a swinging neckbreaker and pinning Okada, the crowd once more shocked into silence when one of NJPW's main event stars loses to _Bo._

The crowd focuses on the action once more when Lince Dorado defeats Mandrews, the men's highflying abilities meshing well and making it difficult to tell who's going to win until after the bell rings. Nikki Bella walks out the winner in a triple threat, locking Brandi Rhodes into the STF throwing Bayley outside, leaving her out there grabbing her recently injured shoulder.

When Nakamura comes to the ring next, the crowd reacts positively, silence overwhelming the arena when Johnny Mundo comes out next, everyone realizing the dream match they're getting to see next. Nakamura and Mundo eye each other while Johnny adjusts his wrist bands, shaking his neck out and preparing for what's to come. Their opening strikes and kicks are rivaled in brutality, Shinsuke seemingly entertained by the noises John makes with every hit that he lands. Nakamura is pretty sure Mundo is getting some sort of sick pleasure out of every bit of offense Nakamura takes as well, Nakamura moving to hit the Kinsasha just for Mundo to dive out of the way and quickly get back to his feet, the two of them still staring each other as they lunge forward to hit something- Mundo's superkick attempt is reversed and altered into a double knee backbreaker that John has to struggle just to kick out of, his knee impacting with Shinsuke's head and helping to release him. A solid knee to the face later and Mundo goes uptop to hit the End of the World just for Nakamura to get his knees up, dazing Mundo as he hits the mat and struggles to breathe.

Nakamura pulls him up and hits an inverted exploder suplex before dragging him upright once more, Johnny understandably wavering until Nakamura hits him with a solid Kinshasa that sends him crumpling to the mat before, a quick pin finishing the whole thing. Nakamura smirks, leaning against the rope and taking in the crowd's positive reaction to his victory. When he turns around, Mundo is standing, a pissed off look on his face even as he bows to Nakamura in a sign of grudging respect, leaving him behind to celebrate his win with the crowd.

Eli Drake defeats ACH after hitting him with Blunt Force Trauma, and Kushida takes out Dijak with a corkscrew moonsault.

The main event is a battle royal, the ring filling up while Cesaro and Sheamus argue in a corner, neither aware of their surroundings until Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, tired of listening to them bickering and getting the same idea at the same time, rushes up and clotheslines both men out of the ring onto the floor, effectively eliminating them before exchanging a confused, uncertain look. This comes to an end when Owens tries to rush them, both men side stepping and then going back to the action at hand. Luke Gallows eliminates Chad Gable next by hoisting him up and punching him until he hits the apron and then rolls onto the floor. Apollo Crews is taken out next, Bray Wyatt laughing down at him before turning back to the match. Aron Rex eliminates Zack Ryder next, Zack punching the match in disgust before making his way backstage. Rhyno gores Luke Gallows, a clothesline from Reigns sending him the rest out of the ring. Rhyno and Reigns exchange a quick look before wading back in, Nevilly eliminated almost right away when Bray hits sister abigail and hten mercilessly dumps him over.

Bray's plans for the men in this match all rains down upon his head when the remaining wrestlers come after him, trying of his cheating, and drops him over and out. Marty the Moth eliminates Kendrick next and he smirks down at _The Man With The Plan._ Owens powerbombs Truth out of the ring and has just turned around when Owens tries to lift him for to eliminate him as well but he refuses to budge, Marty thinking he's gone to the wrong place after all as he squirms and tries to rescue himself. Seth, looking for an opportunity to get one over on Owens, runs quickly to send them both over but Owens drops Marty back inside of the ring before sending Seth over instead, the architect glaring at them from the floor. Aron Rex is taken out by Rhyno, a solid forearm to the throat sending him tumble over the ropes.

He's still sneering down at the former stunt double when Reigns lands a superman punch on him and hoists him over the ropes, eliminating him to the crowd's displeasure. Marty the Moth, Jay White and Texano all getting eliminated one after another, leaving Owens and Reigns alone in the ring. After a Superman punch attempt, Owens grips him and hoists him up for a popup powerbomb clear out of the ring, digging his fingers in no matter how hard Roman struggles. Owens is winded but he's determined to have this moment and presses against the ropes, both of them tumbling over but Owens lets go of Roman just in time and he hits hard, Owens clinging to the ropes for just long enough, successfully winning the entire thing. He gasps for air and brushes his hair out of his eye, smirking as the crowd reacts in its standard mixed way during anything with Roman. "Trick or treat," he yells down at Roman before jumping off of the apron and stomping him in the chest once more before walking up the ramp, beyond pleased with himself.


	49. chapter 49

"Thank you for your patience since Team Work was delayed a bit this week," Stephanie announces to the group of wrestlers scattered around. "Considering WWE was overseas. Now that we're good to go, the card is outside by the gorilla position. So have a good show, and I'll be back here if anyone has any questions."

As they wander off, she sinks onto the couch and rubs her forehead, yawning. "I'm getting too old for jetlag," she muses, closing her eyes and leaning back. She dozes until the show starts, sitting up and focusing on the matches.

Setting out to get advantage against the Smackdown tag team, Stephanie had made the first match a handcap match, Enzo Amore and Jimmy Uso facing off against Rhyno. Enzo doesn't look impressed by having to team with Jimmy _or_ face Rhyno, but he tries not to get too intimidated while waiting for the bell after his entrance. Jimmy forces him to start off and Rhyno lands a few punches and then slamming Enzo back, Enzo fruitlessly struggling to get any kind of offense in when Rhyno hoists him up and carries him over to Jimmy, forcing the tag while Jimmy glowers up at him, unimpressed. Although Rhyno is well-trained in offense and reversals, Jimmy fights through and kicks him hard in the knee, sending him down. As he struggles and writhes, Jimmy continues beating him down, targetting his leg with kicks and elbows, leaving Rhyno writhing and struggling against the mat. Jimmy then runs to the corner and climbs, diving off onto Rhyno, recovering with a struggle and rolling over to pin Rhyno. As soon as the three count is achieved, he's back up on his feet, grabbing a dizzy Enzo and trying to sling him off of the top rope when Heath runs down, grabbing Enzo and placing him securely down on the floor before sliding into the ring and DDTing Jimmy quickly before grabbing Rhyno, rescuing him and helping him up the ramp.

Swagger loses to ROH's TK O'Ryan, and after a lengthy beat down, Alexa Bliss recovers enough to hit Twisted Bliss on Nia Jax and defeat her. A gauntlet match is next and after Eddie Edwards defeats Brother Nero, Rich Swann and a returning Matt Taven, he wrestles and loses to Son of Havoc, just too tired to fight any further.

Next sees Lince Durado vs DJ Z and the two men fly all over the place, trying to one-up themselves in high risk moves off of the top ropes, Lince eating a dropkick and falling out of the ring before Zema takes it at a run and swings out of the ring and dives onto Lince, the two of them laying on the mat and staring up at the lights until they realize that the ref is trying to count them out, both racing to get into the ring next. They start exchanging punches again and then Zema lunges at Lince, downing him with a leg scissors just for Lince to grab him and slam him down, going up just to dive down atop him with most of his weight landing on Zema's bad wrist on the way down, pinning him. Zema groans and rolls away, holding his casted arm close to his chest, teeth gritted against the pain.

Following this are two triple threat matches, Matt Hardy walking out the winner against Jason Jordan and Curtis Axel, and Braxton Sutter leaving the winner against Rey Mysterio and his own tag partner, Mandrews. "Well, at least we got out of that match in one piece," Mandrews mumbles to himself, throwing an arm over his face and groaning until he has to leave the ring too for the next match.

Alicia Fox wrestles Carmella next, the two women locking up in the middle before Alicia overpowers her and shoulderchecks her down, kicking her in the midsection before lifting her up and slamming her back down. She has a decent streak of offense, elbowing Carmella in the stomach over and over again before slamming her backwards and then kneeing her... but when she tries to get Carmella up, she gets a knee to the head and staggers, trying to regain composure just for Carmella to lock in the Code of Silence, Alicia struggling to get free until her sight starts to go dark and she passes out, hand drifting towards the mat. The ref calls it to the fans' displeasure.

Vinnie Marseglia defeats Sheamus and Shibata takes out TJ Perkins, his neck a little too sore to handle Shibata's offense the normal way and it costing him big time.

Heath wrestles Elgin next and, although he's reinvigorated by having his above ground pool and the double wide- not to mention all of his kids- it's just not enough. Elgin suplexes him once too often and Heath is just incapable of getting up one more time, eating the pin and the loss.

The main event is a battle royal pitting Cedric Alexander vs Dragon Lee vs Jey Uso vs Dolph Ziggler vs Kazuchika Okada vs Aron Rex vs Randy Orton vs Chad Gable vs Matanza vs Braun Strowman vs Cesaro vs Dean Ambrose. The mix of wrestlers immediately try to throw each other over the top rope, Ziggler the only one to actually go as Braun Strowman's strength ends up just being too much for him early on. Chad Gable goes next, caught with an early Rainmaker from Okada that sends him tumbling all the way to the floor. Despite fighting as hard as he can, Jey Uso is third out of the ring, caught by Okada's dropkick. Braun goes next, Dean and Cesaro working together to eliminate him until finally Okada and Orton rush over to assist, the large man finally falling out and landing heavily on his back, an angry look on his face.

Working together never lasts for long in these kinds of matches, however, as Orton grabs Okada and throws him out after Strowman, their eyes locking before the NJPW champion is forced to leave ringside. Matanza takes out Dean next, just to receive a dropkick from Orton, followed by an uppercut from Cesaro that eliminates him from the match as well. Orton is out next when Cedric Alexander catches him by surprise with a dropkic from the opposing top rope, danzing him and sending him right out. Cedric's celebration is short lived, however, when Dragon Lee all but suplexes him clean over the top rope, laughing down at him until the chain continues and Cesaro pushes him over to join the others still struggling to recollect themselves on the floor. This leaves Aron Rex and Cesaro and, although Aron tries to eliminate him, Cesaro quickly turns it around and, after sending Aron around a few times in the Cesaro Swing, he tosses him smoothly out of the ring, bowing to the crowd in pleasure at his success after so long of not winning more points.


	50. chapter 50

Stephanie exhales. Drums her fingers. She doesn't have a lot of patience for Team Work, or much else this week, so she stays in her office. Locks her door whenever she thinks she can get away with it for more than a few minutes. One relief is that Mick isn't here to nag her for decisions he disagrees with. Another is once she confirms the card, there's very little she has to do but sit back, watch, and talley the points as each match concludes.

The crowd always seems to enjoy the show, getting to see so many different wrestlers from so many different companies under one roof. This show is no different as Becky Lynch comes out, followed by Alicia Fox, and the two women square off in the middle of the ring, Becky trying to get the upperhand early while Alicia, fueled by being the first eliminated at Survivor Series, sweeps her legs out from under her and kneels down, punching her with as much strength as she can manage, screaming into Becky's face as the audience boos her. She hoists Becky up by her bright orange hair and swings her a few feet away, smirking as she lands heavily and groans, struggling to sit back up.

Alicia grips her once more, forcing her to her feet before she attempts to hit her scissors kick, just for Becky to regroup enough to grab her arm and slam it over her knees, gritting her teeth against the rattling impact. Alicia cries out and crumples, gripping her arm, before kicking out desperately when Becky drops a knee down on her, trying to weaken her further for the Disarmer. This time it's Becky hoisting Alicia up and slamming her back down, jamming her elbow against the mat and causing Alicia to scream out in agony, gripping her arm and rolling away, her eyes squinting in fear as she considers what an arm injury could do to her career right now. She doesn't get too far, however, before Becky's on her once more, gripping her arm and hyperextending it into the dreaded submission hold. The pain keeps Alicia unable to fight out, and before long, she's tapping out desperately, relieved when the referee breaks the hold so she can roll out to relative safety, the crowd cheering for Becky's win.

After Kushida wins a triple threat match against Hechicero and Jey Uso, Stephanie decides to add something to the card and heads out into the hall for the first time since she'd arrived, staring around until she spots Sasha down the hall, her bright hair painfully obvious even from far away. Squaring her shoulders, Stephanie walks up to her and stares her down, determined to stay on her husband's good side after all of the drama brought up by what's been going on with Seth Rollins the last few months. Considering the drama Sasha is still causing for the Flair family, this seems the easiest way to do so. "Hello, Sasha," she says coolly.

Sasha stares at her, raising an eyebrow as she adjusts the chunky plates on her fingers spelling out "BOSS". "Hello," she says disinterestedly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Stephanie bristles at the disrespect and immediately jumps into her explanation. "So, since you're here and with nothing booked yet, I'm putting you in a gauntlet match. Your opponents will be out shortly, so better go to the ring."

Sasha doesn't seem that surprised- by now the entire locker room knows if Stephanie has a problem with someone, she's all too willing to throw them in a gauntlet match against multiple opponents in the hope that they'll get beat down repeatedly and lose in embarrassing fashion. Her focus being on the woman's title fuels her, however, she uses it to fuel her in staying strong while facing off with first, Naomi, who she defeats after a few minutes of back and forth, finally taking her down with two solid knees to the mid-section in the corner, and then Bayley, her sometimes friend and sometimes nemesis not making it easy on her and leaving her breathless and sweaty as Ivelisse makes her way down to the ring, confident and smirking as she slips inside to face off with Sasha. They start off slow, feeling each other out, Ivelisse attempting a few kicks here and there, Sasha avoiding and swinging up with punches or elbows, most which miss. As they separate to eye each other, Ivelisse starts to laugh, enjoying new competition after so many months with Lucha Underground. The lock up this time is more brutal, less experimental, and Ivelisse sends Sasha down hard against the mat before kneeling over her and punching repeatedly, Sasha doing her best to defend against the hard strikes.

Finally she gets the advantage, lifts her legs and sends Ivelisse off of her with a solid boot to the midsection, winding the other woman. Ivelisse tries to rush her just to get chopped hard in the chest, rocking her backwards and being met on the forward momentum with a knee to the face. As she crumbles and grips her nose, Sasha rolls her up, bridging to add that extra torque to the move, just for Ivelisse to kick out seconds before the referee's hand hit the mat, Sasha arguing with the ref in disbelief. Once they're both up and trying to regain their focus, Ivelisse's attempt to hit a wheelhouse kick is evaded, Sasha gripping her and tangling her up in a Bank Statement, dragging her into the middle of the ring before locking it in fully. Ivelisse screams and struggles, trying to fight, but finding her energy quickly wavering until she has no choice but to tap, angry at losing like this. While Sasha celebrates, she pounds the mat and grits her teeth, ignoring the referee before leaving the ring and stumbling up the ramp.

Jimmy Uso finds himself in a tag match with Lucha Underground's Mack vs Sin Cara and Mascarita Sagrada, promptly losing because the two luchadors gel better than he does with his partner. Mil Muertes makes quick work of Honma, and Jeremiah Crane lasts until the end of a 13 man battle royal, slipping out under the bottom rope and hiding, watching everyone else get eliminated until Karl Anderson stands in the middle of the ring, celebrating his presumed win just for Jeremiah to slip back in and throw him over the top as easy as pie. He smirks at the crowd and laughs down at the disbelieving Anderson before leaving to find Ivelisse and celebrate his win whie pretending to only care about making her feel better over her loss.

After Ultimo Guerrero walks out the winner in a triple threat match against Luke Gallows and Keith Lee, there's a two on one match pitting the Shining Stars against Marty the Moth, who has been creeping around the locker rooms for weeks by now, freaking out both female and male talent alike. Stephanie's way of punishing him works out perfectly as the cousins overwhelm him, Primo sweeping his legs out from under him as Epico hits a heelkick higher up, leaving him completely dazed and out of it, unable to fight back to awareness in time to kick out. Next, EC3 wins a six man match against Fandango, Shigeo Okumura, Luke Harper, Trevor Lee and Kevin Owens, and Tyler Breeze defeats Rich Swann.

It's time for the main event and Neville makes his entrance, running into the ring and removing his cape as the arena goes dark and cell phones light up all around, the fireflies calling to Bray Wyatt as he makes his way down to the ring, Harper and Orton neither present as he stretches his arms out upon blowing out his lantern, laughing while Neville stares back at him coolly. Careful to keep his distance, Neville falls onto defense, avoiding Bray's eclectic offense, trying not to let his mindgames get to him. They do this little dance for awhile until Bray lands a blow that rocks Neville, sends him stumbling back and leaves him vulnerable to a shoulder block that downs him, Bray's laughter echoing in his head once more. He shakes his head, trying to get back into the game, when Bray hoists him up and laughs in his face, patting his cheek almost condescendingly before ruthlessly slamming him back down.

Neville recovers by bits and pieces, his vision blurry and nearly useless, but he depends on his hearing, on the feel of the mat beneath his feet, and he reacts just in time- throwing out his boot and landing a solid strike against Bray's face, sending him staggering back. It gives Neville time and space to leap onto the top rope and, giving all of his trust to his body's agility, he soars and feels Bray's weight underneath him. Leaping up once more, he climbs the ropes again and this time blinks enough to see. The 450 splash he hits is a little off, he hits too high on Bray's body, but it works, leaves the man motionless under him, and so Neville pins him and listens, holding his breath until the 3 count is achieved.

Not wanting to be attacked by Bray or any of his followers, Neville rolls out of the ring quickly and collapses onto the ramp, laughing as the referee runs over to him and holds his hand up in victory.


	51. chapter 51

Stephanie is out of the country this week, handling some international business, so Team Work business is dealt with from afar. She demands constant updates, notifications on match results, and such things, but to her relief, the show goes on without a hitch.

Kyle O'Reilly defeats Jessie Godderz, making him tap out to the crowd's satisfaction after a back and forth match where Kyle nearly gets pinned a couple of times, adding to the tension. Eddie Kingston faces Mojo Rawley next, ducking Mojo's attempt at a forearm just to hit his own to the back of Mojo's head, taking him out long enough for the three count.

Backstage, Enzo Amore and Jason Jordan eye each other while Cass and Chad Gable prepare for their match in the ring, Chad clearly nervous but resolute to get those points. Cass isn't giving up without a fight, and quickly slings Chad away when they lock up in the middle of the ring. Chad huffs, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and rushes forward, locking his fingers around Cass' midsection and trying to hoist his large frame up. It's not working, however, and Cass quickly breaks his grip, meeting him with a solid boot to the face when Chad tries to run back up. The smaller man all but twists in midair, hitting with a thump that makes Jason cringe and Enzo whoop, Cass hitting the Empire Elbow on Chad and getting a two count for his troubles. Both tag partners are shocked by this development, Jason rebounding as he realizes his boy isn't quite out of it yet, Enzo's loud encouragement for Cass probably audible all the way into the ring.

The match doesn't last much longer, however, Cass planting his feet and preventing Gable from suplexing him, just to hit him solidly in the side of the head, before hoisting him up and hitting the East River Crossing on him, pinning him. Enzo immediately runs for the ring, Jason heading down at a more sedate, disappointed walk. Cass laughs and ruffles Enzo's hair while Jason helps Chad to get to his feet, examining his partner for anything seriously wrong before the two teams face each other once more, Enzo waiting for a brawl or something- just for Cass to reach out for a hand shake, which Chad accepts as graciously as he can while so sore. Enzo squares his shoulders and follows his partner's example, holding a hand out to Jason and only holding still long enough for a brisk yet respectful handshake before dancing spastically around the ring, Chad shaking his head with a laugh as Jason helps him out of the ring.

Next is a six man match that sees Kalisto, Fandango, Colt Cabana, Jimmy Uso, The Miz and Tyler Breeze fight to eliminate each other. Kalisto is out first, but Fandango and Tyler's attempts at double teaming the others fail when Miz grabs Breeze in a figure four while Fandango is distracted with Jimmy Uso, wrenching back on his legs until he taps. This seems to fuel something in Fandango, however, and soon Miz is gone after Fandango hits a leg drop from the top rope on him. Colt hits a bridging suplex on Jimmy and he's the next to go but Colt is quickly eliminated as well after Fandango snaps him back with a Suplex slam, pinning him and winning the match.

Bray Wyatt defeats Luke Gallows, and Rich Swann and Cesaro are put in a two on one handicapped match against Jason Jordan, Swann getting the pin after following Cesaro's swing up with a spin kick that completely knocks their opponent out. Sheamus ends up in a bizarre tag team match with Shera facing off against TK O'Ryan and Bram, and responds to his partner's win with one of his own, successfully pinning TK O'Ryan after hitting a brogue kick that nearly kicks them both out of their boots.

Next up is Dalton Castle, flanked by his Boys- one of the rare exceptions to the 'no partners at ringside' rule- and he prances and poses while Karl Anderson makes his way to the ring, leaning against the ropes and sneering down at him, Boys waving fans at him on either side. Karl looks far from impressed by this and shoos them away before getting into the ring, yelling something at the Boys that isn't audible over the crowd. Dalton pats both twins' faces before urging them out of the ring, tilting his head and smirking once the bell rings. It's a hard fight, really, Anderson giving about as good as he gets as they exchange punches, but Dalton's natural ability shines through and he scrambles away and hits a suplex, bridging perfectly, and Karl only just succeeds at kicking out. He's attempting a powerbomb when Dalton shifts his weight, reverses it into a bang-a-rang and pins Karl with a smug look in his eye as the boys celebrate on the outside.

Zack Ryder comes to the ring next, stretching his wrists out and hopping around to limber up. He exhales, tilting his head from one side to the other as Brian Kendrick comes out, the two of them staring at each other until the bell rings. Immediately they lock up and Zack's more muscular form overwhelms Brian, sends him down to the mat briefly before Zack forces him back up and shoulder checks him into the side, determined to win. Kendrick gets free though, kicking Zack in the thigh as quickly and as often as he can and making his leg buckle under him as it cramps up. Zack hisses and releases him, stumbling back a bit which opens him up for a harsh elbow to the face. He shakes it off and dropkicks Brian as he approaches, gasping for breath as he hits the mat, running his fingers through his hair and leaping up to meet Brian's offense once more, uppercutting him and sending Brian into the turnbuckles. Zack lines it up and runs forward, clotheslining him hard and watching him crumple before preparing to hit the Broski Boot, which he does by scraping his boot over Brian's face.

Brian is durable, despite his smaller size, however, and he's quickly up, scrambling to overwhelm Zack with his speed, hitting a solid kick that makes Zack stagger. The offense that follows is so quick that even the audience has trouble following it, Zack hitting the mat after Brian smashes his knee into his head. Still struggling to get back up, Zack utterly vulnerable to the backflip kick that follows this. All he can do is hang limply from Brian's grip as he forces him up onto the top rope, hitting Sliced Bread #2 and pinning him. Zack lays there, staring blankly at the lights overhead, dazed, while Brian's arm is raised in victory just within his vision.

Goto walks out the victor following an Elimination Chamber Match with Vinny Marseglia, Enzo Amore, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn and Noam Dar. EC3 defeats Jey Uso after reversing his splash into a One Percenter, and Braun Strowman defeats Kane and Naito in a triple threat match after overpowering Kane and reverse chokeslamming him.

Bayley wrestles Star in a difficult match that's decidedly even until the two women are exhausted and panting for breath, the crowd on the edge of their seats, waiting and watching with baited breath for the one move that would change everything- which happens when Star goes to the top rope, just for her legs to give out on her and send her crashing down where Bayley catches her and throws her back in a belly to belly suplex, floating over to pin her.

The crowd buzzes when Matt Taven comes to the ring flanked by his Kingdom brethern, who reluctantly head backstage before trouble comes their way for being together, Matt left alone in the ring to watch as Randy Orton makes his entrance, the Wyatts not even bothering to accompany him this far. Matt seems unbothered as well, smirking at Orton and flexing his wrists until they're eye to eye. Matt throws the first punch and Orton laughs at him, wiping at his face before lifting an eyebrow and meeting him with a heymaker, staggering Taven back. Orton's offense is calculating, sharp, precise. Taven can barely catch his breath until he manages to hit a dropkick, staggering Orton back into the ropes, where Taven clotheslines him over and hunches over, rubbing some of the soreness out of his sides where Orton's punches seemed directed.

He doesn't stop fighting however, and when Orton returns to the ring, Taven meets him with a boot to the face, staggering Randy. The fight is just a little more even then, Taven slowly working against the current and getting the upperhand bit by bit by bit... until he finds himself in the perfect position for an RKO so he throws himself to the side and listens as Orton hits thin air and drops to the mat with a moan. Taven laughs, a little maddened, before grabbing him by the head and forcing him up, closing his eyes for a moment as fond memories flashes through his mind of wrestling with Bennett by his side, assisting in this very move as he hoists Orton up into a piledriver and spikes him down before pinning him. He almost doesn't believe the three count until the crowd's booing washes over him and he laughs harder, rolling away from Orton and out of the ring before he could regroup from his own shock at the loss. Taven's teeth flash as he stares smugly out at the crowd, all struggling to out-boo each other.

Sasha walks out the victor after an Ultimate X match where she shimmies across and beats Madison Rayne, Brandi Rhodes and Charlotte to the hanging X in the middle of the ring, lifting her arm proudly as the crowd reacts positively to her success.

Stephanie had grown tired of Jericho and his ego, everything about him, so she'd put him in the most punishing match she enjoys throwing those she hates into the most. A gauntlet match, where he wouldn't even know the wrestlers he'd be facing off against until they come to the ring. His veteran cunning and ability holds him strong against TJ Perkins and James Storm. Seth Rollins proves a bit more of a fight, finally falling after Jericho uses the ropes to brace himself while pinning The Man, and Jericho kicks him out of the ring as the referee tries to attract his attention. "There's one more, Jericho!" he yells, ruining Jericho's celebration as he frowns at the man, certain he'd heard him wrong over the crowd. "You have one more opponent!"

His yells die away as all color leeches from his skin, Kevin Owens' music hitting. "No," he breathes out, watching as his maybe-former best friend makes his way reluctantly to the ring. There's nothing that can be done for it, the bell rings and they're off, Jericho shaking his head and trying to argue with the referee until Owens steps forward.

"There's nothing we can do, Chris, we have to do this!" Kevin yells at him, eyes dark and beseeching. "Just... lay down, I'll pin you and we'll call it a night, huh? Stephanie just wants-"

"I don't care what Stephanie wants! I don't lay down for anyone!" Jericho screams back at him, looking like he's close to hyperventilating. Owens stares at him, nonplussed, before roughly gripping him and hoisting him up, pop-up powerbombing him before anything else can be said or done. He then pins Jericho and rolls out of the ring, shrugging with an unhappy glower on his face as Jericho rolls onto his side and stares on in disbelief at his retreating form.


	52. chapter 52

Due to it being Thanksgiving week, Stephanie allows herself another week off, booking Team Work from afar while spending the holiday with her family.

The first match sees Kofi Kingston lose in a handicap match against Fenix and Johnny Mundo, the two men arguing almost the entire time but still coming out with the win after Mundo hits the end of the world, just for Fenix to take the pin while Johnny struggles to work through the rib pain the move still causes him sometimes. Johnny's up and pushing him as soon as he realizes what's happening, the two of them heading towards a massive brawl when security runs out and pulls them apart, fire and anger pouring from their stares as they resolve to handle this once back at the temple, where Dario Cueto doesn't care about anything but putting on a good show and money.

Bayley walks out the winner in a triple threat match against Sasha and Becky after hitting her belly to belly suplex on Becky before she can lock in the Disarmer on Sasha, pinning her before Sasha could recover enough to break it up. Her attempts at hugging the other two in lieu of shaking their hands does very little to ease the disappointment on their faces.

After a rough back and forth that leaves the audience speechless with its fast paced action, Lio Rush eakes out the victory against Aerostar with a moonsault side slam, winding him just long enough for the pin. Next is the first Beat the Clock challenge match that sees Drago taking out Braxton Sutter, his experience easily overwhelming the klutzy man and turning his attempted fisherman suplex into a flip piledriver and the win within 3:87.

"Good luck," Chad Gable tells his partner, slapping Jason Jordan on the shoulder. "I know you'll kill it out there."

Jason nods, trying and failing- as least in his partner's eyes- to hide his nervousness as he heads out to face off against Braun Strowman. He _does_ last longer than most, even managing a somewhat sloppy suplex on the much larger man, but it's not enough. He quickly finds himself dazed on the mat, listening to the referee count the three, and can't move past the pain enough to stop the loss. Strowman all but laughs in his face as he lifts him up to continue the brutalization... just for the crowd to react positively as Chad runs out and follows Jason's suplex with one of his own, showing off more of his core strength before scrambling out of the ring, gripping Jason's legs and dragging him to safety. "Thanks," he mumbles, leaning into Chad's warmth as he braces him against his side and forces him up the ramp as quickly as possible, a wary eye kept on Braun as he roars out his displeasure from the ring.

"Any time," Chad says once they're backstage safely, pressing his forehead to Jason's in a replication of their entrance with a vague smile on his lips. "C'mon, I have to get ready for my match."

Cedric Alexander defeats Bram next, his speed overwhelming the man's strength and rage until he flies off the top rope, hitting Lumbar Check and defeating him. The cruiserweight division continues to make a name for themselves when Rich Swann ends up victorious against Mark Briscoe, 'Chicken' unable to do anything but watch on in blank awe when his opponent dances up the ramp successfully.

The second Beat the Clock match pits Rusev against Robbie E, the Bulgarian Brute walking out the winner at a time of 2:56, Robbie all but begging as he taps from the Accolade, Rusev very slow in releasing the submission. Jay Briscoe defeats Miz after beating him down, Mike only able to get in a few hits before Jay's angry offense overwhelms him and leaves him unable to defend himself against the onslaught. Big E likewise loses to Lucha Underground's Dante Fox, his Springboard 450 splash calling an end to the man's attempt at getting points, followed by Mahabali Shera taking out R-Truth with a sitout spinebuster after a bizarre match that was mostly just them performing dance moves to the crowd's bewilderment.

The final Beat the Clock match of the night pits DJ Z against Chad Gable, the two men staring at each other on opposite sides of the ring, Zema shaking out the knee that's been giving him trouble for the past few weeks since fighting alongside, and then against, his teammates in the X-Division. He ignores it all, his broken wrist, his weak knee, and fights as best as he can against the former Olympian. Gable suplexes him early on, winding him, but Zema fights out and kicks him hard in the chest, staggering him. Punching him with his good hand, Zema hits the ropes and lunges off in a crossbody, startled when Chad grabs him out of thin air and slings him over his shoulder like he weighs nothing. Zema hits hard and lays there for a moment before feeling Chad's fingers gripping his tightly shaved hair, tugging him up and preparing to suplex him again when Zema knees him hard in the midsection, the pain for them both leaving them both on the mat, Zema grabbing at his knee and Chad struggling to catch his breath.

Both aware of how the clock is ticking down, they meet back in the middle of the ring, Chad trying for another bridging suplex when Zema grabs his arm, reverses it and locks in an armbar, holding his breath and hoping that it's enough even with his weakened wrist. Chad fights out, however, slams him hard against the mat and leaves Zema blinking against the stars in his vision before lifting him up once more for another suplex. Zema takes the pain, grits against it, and kicks out at 2, rolling away and struggling up to his feet against the ropes. They stare at each other, a kind of respect lingering there, before Chad runs forward with a yell just to find himself caught with knees to the face, Zema following it up with a ZDT, pinning Chad. He lays there, in disbelief that he'd actually ended the match in time, the clock flashing 2:16 before his eyes. "I won," he mumbles into the mat while the ref tries to get him to stand, hold his arm up in victory.

He hurts all over but he beams anyway, relieved at the success despite all of his lingering injuries.

Next, Goldust defeats Mandrews with a vertical suplex after the man tries to introduce his skateboard into things, not taking Goldust seriously and paying for it. Al Snow cheats to win against Seth Rollins, somehow twisting out of and reversing his pedigree attempt into a roll up, using his pants to hold him down and keep him from wriggling free.

The crowd's daze is still evident as James Ellsworth meekly makes his way out to the ring for his first Team Work match, gripping his neck and looking even more worse for wear as Ethan Carter III comes to the ring, huge and frighteningly strong in comparison to James. He gulps and grips his hands into fists, determined to at least _try._ EC3 eyes him curiously, a strange look in his eye as James stands up to him despite the vast difference in their sizes. He exhales and shrugs before stepping forward. There's nothing technical about the match, if anything Ethan's playing with him, holding him down in headlocks and other weak excuses for submissions, only looking slightly annoyed whenever James tries offense. "Look, man, you've got guts, but what are you really expecting here?" he demands, wrenching back on James' neck and making him cry out. "You've seen my record, right? Especially against guys like you?" A flash of memory- angry blue eyes fixed on him- distracts him and he grunts, pushing James away. "Just lay down, I'll finish this quick."

"Any man with two hands-"

"Has a fighting chance, I know," Ethan mumbles, rolling his eyes, before trying to finish this- he grips James, about to hit the 1 Percenter, when he looks over and spots a familiar presence, in the crowd, watching him with a fixed stare, his arms crossed over his chest. It's just enough of a distraction for James to get a couple of solid hits in on Ethan's side, Ethan's already slack grip falling away entirely. Putting more distance between them, James looks around at the crowd, also confused by Ethan's visible distraction. He takes the opportunity, however, and when Ethan finally remembers what he's doing, he lunges forward and hits a perfect No Chin Music, staggering Ethan enough that he hops back and hits a second, then a third, before finally downing him and pinning him.

The crowd whispers in hushed awe at James defeating yet another seemingly impossible opponent before cheering him, James staggering up to his feet with a disbelieving grimace, once more gripping at his neck. He quickly leaves the ring, not wanting Ethan to take his temper out on him, and watches from the ramp as Rockstar Spud slips out of the crowd and into the ring. He stands over him and smirks, not bothering to touch Ethan once. "Still in your head, huh, _sir_?" is all he says before leaving the ring and heading up the ramp, staring over at James as he walks past him, the smug look on his face contrasting with the confusion on everyone else's.


	53. chapter 53

Team Work starts with another Beat the Clock match announced, Mojo Rawley facing off with Matt Taven in the middle of the ring. They stare at each other for a moment before starting off. Mojo is wild with the punches, keeping Taven off balanced, but it doesn't keep him from getting some offense of his own in, rocking Mojo with a dropkick and lifting him for a suplex. They brawl back and forth for awhile until Mojo takes Taven out with a shoulderblock to the corner, hitting so hard that he immediately falls to the mat, the three count to follow no real surprise considering the impact. Mojo beams when he sees the clock with a time of 4:28 on it.

Moose defeats Michael Elgin and Baron Corbin makes quick work of Eddie Kingston, Braun Strowman continuing the rushed decimation by winning against both Big E and AJ Styles in a triple threat, his eye on the WWE World Heavyweight Champion as he pins the New Day member, a sadistic kind of smirk on his face. The fact that they're on different brands does nothing to dissuade him and AJ quickly escapes before Braun can leave the ring.

Next is a tag match and Zack Ryder looks curiously at Xavier Woods, the man his opponent only a few weeks earlier, thanks to Survivor Series pitting Raw vs Smackdown. "Bygones be bygones?" he offers, holding a hand out. Zack relaxes immediately and nods, fist bumping with him before standing side by side with him, watching as Miz comes out, followed by a Japanese wrestler known as Sho.

"Keep up with me, kid, and we've got this won easily," Miz tells the man before the bell rings, his back turned to him and keeping him oblivious to Sho's incredulous facial expression. Zack and Xavier work togethe well, and Sho is a decent enough fighter for his age, Mike tagging in when he's in danger and working Xavier over with his neckbreaker into the backbreaker combo and then trying to go into the figure four just for Zack to run in and break it up, allowing Xavier enough space to scramble over and get the tag.

Zack meets Sho with a dropkick, then hitting the Broski Boot once he stumbles into the corner and collapses. He's just about to hit the Rough Ryder when Miz grabs Sho and pulls him to safety, Zack stopping short and looking over the top rope. "Are you serious, bro?!" Miz tags back in and Zack punches him, the two of them exchanging blows for awhile until Mike kicks low and sends Zack to the mat, gripping his leg. The figure four that Mike then locks in weakens him further and he's struggling to get to the ropes, scrambling until Xavier can help... just for Mike to yell something at Sho, who hops out of sight and runs around the ring and grips Xavier's feet before he can get into the ring, sending him face first into the apron. Mike laughs and re-positions himself and Zack, keeping him away from the ropes and leaving him with no option but to tap.

In the second Beat the Clock match of the night, Roman walks out the winner against Kane at 3:26 after slipping free from a chokeslam and hitting a Superman Punch. Matt Jackson succeeds against Bray Wyatt after fighting through his unease at the man's presence, and Kenny Omega continues the Bullet Club's domination by pinning Orton after hitting a bridging German suplex when he tries to go for the RKO. Nikki Bella beats Rosemary and Hitokiri in an Ultimate X match, hanging from the crisscrossing ropes with the X in hand, looking beyond pleased with herself.

Lio Rush successfully outlasts everyone else in a 12 man Battle Royal, Bram, Tonga, Marty Scurll, Noam Dar, Dalton Castle, Caprice Coleman, Donovan Dijak, Chad Gable, Yo, Nick Jackson and Cody all eliminated over time and leaving him the victor after back body dropping Gable over the top rope. The next match sees Alex Shelley victorious in a handicap match against Jay White and Loa, the two men not getting along well enough to work together and leaving themselves vulnerable to his offense.

In the last Beat the Clock match, DJ Z and Rhett Titus fight as hard as they can but fail at beating the time set by Roman Reigns, meaning that he wins the match and the point and leaving them unsatisfied and with the match result virtually undecided, neither able to stop glaring at each other as they make their way out of the ring and backstage. Next, TK O'Ryan defeats Jason Jordan after taking Takahashi out of the triple threat match, laughing as his arm is lifted in victory. Kyle O'Reilly wins in an Elimination Chamber match against Yoshitatsu, Vinny Marselgia, Tony Nese, Chris Sabin and Silas Young after pinning Silas following slinging him off of the top turnbuckle in a vicious suplex.

The last match of the night pits Sasha Banks against Alexa Bliss and the two women can barely stop glaring at each other long enough for the bell to ring. They immediately lock up, exchanging punches and kicks until Sasha throws Alexa away and kicks her in the midsection when she lunges forward, trying to get further offense in. Alexa yells out and clotheslines Sasha down, kicking her viciously until the ref pulls them apart, threatening Alexa. Sasha gets up while they argue and slams Alexa backwards, scrambling back to her feet and sending her knees down into Alexa's abdomen before hoisting her up by her hair and sending her over to the corner. Alexa kicks her away before she can be put into place for Sasha's knees off the top, and dropkicks Sasha again, just to rear back and punch her with everything in her right in the face, rocking Sasha. Another hit and Alexa sends her into the bottom rope, stomping on her and scraping her against the rough surface, risking intense contact burns until finally the referee gets her off again.

Sasha regroups quickly, fueled by anger, and grabs Alexa, whipping her face first into the turnbuckle before finally fighting to get her into position for the knees, which she lands brutally, causing more damage to Alexa's midsection. Alexa stumbles up quickly and knees Sasha in the face, before sweeping her legs out from under her and going up top to hit the Twisted Bliss, pinning Sasha afterwards. As soon as it registers with her that she'd won, she scrambles out of the ring and mocks Sasha by pretending to cry on her way up the ramp, devolving into laughter as Sasha glowers across at her.


	54. chapter 54

The first match is a triple threat between Kennadi Brink, Veda Scott and Bayley. After the three of them brawl for awhile, Veda gets tired of it and grips Kennadi by the back of her head and throws her clean out of the ring just to get grabbed from behind and thrown back in a belly to belly suplex, Bayley pinning her for a three count. Despite hitting as hard as he can as fast as he can, Zack Ryder loses to Al Snow after his attempt at a Rough Ryder gets reversed into a scoop brainbuster.

Chad Gable wrestles Kevin Owens next and they exchange punches to start off, Owens surprised by the strength behind Gable's strikes. He stands for a minute, wiping at his face before lunging forward and locking up, overpowering Chad and sending him back. Clearly wanting to finish this early, he tries to pop up powerbomb him but Chad squirms out and hits the mat hard before kicking Owens hard and sending him rebounding off of the ropes. Chad tries to suplex him then but Owens shifts his weight and lands hard on top of him, covering him to a two count. Chad scrambles back up and dropkicks Owens before suplexing him, bridging into a cover of his own that Kevin kicks out of. Chad tries to regroup, resume the attack, just for Kevin to grab him and pop up powerbomb him for real, pinning him.

Roman Reigns defeats Moose, and Jack Gallagher uses his wiles to overwhelm and overcome Baron Corbin. Mojo wins a fatal four way against Mandrews, Mack and The Miz after forearming Mandrews almost through the turnbuckle post and pinning him while Mack and Miz brawl on the outside. Bray Wyatt beats Brian Cage and Allie stands strong in a five way match against Mandy Leon, Kelli Klein, Sexy Star and Deonna Purrazzo. Jason Jordan reverses Rich Swann's attempt at a senton off the top and suplexes him on top of Shera, pinning both of them at once to win the triple threat match they're in.

The main event is a tag match between Naito and Randy Orton against Seth Rollins and Mark Henry. Henry and Orton start the match, exchanging hits and kicks until Randy hits an RKO on Henry, leaving him loopy until Seth runs in and saves it by stomping Orton between the shoulderblades. Orton yells out in pain and rolls away, Seth pushing Mark to the corner to tag in. As soon as he's in with Naito, they meet in the middle and Naito knees Seth solidly before hitting him with his strongest punch. Seth rocks back before lunging forward and kicking Naito in the face, Naito achieving distance between them by staggering out of the ring to catch his breath just enough to give Seth space to fly over the top rope and land heavily on top of him.

Naito drops down and lays there, dazed, as Seth crawls back into the ring, Orton yelling at Naito as the ref begins to count. As soon as Naito's up again, Seth takes it at a run again and flies out on top of him once more, leaving him down on the mat. Orton, frustrated, jumps down, grabs him and throws him back into the ring. Naito fights to get to his feet as Orton and Henry enter, exchanging punches just for Henry to overpower Orton and send him between the ropes before nudging him onto the floor and keeping him out there as Seth sets Naito up for a pedigree. Henry paces the ropes and keeps Orton at bay long enough for Seth to get the pin for their team.


	55. chapter 55

Stephanie is still away, so Team Work continues to function without her micromanaging everything in person. In a fast paced, hard hitting back and forth between Kyle O'Reilly and Xavier Woods, the crowd holds their breath as they try to keep track of the intense chain wrestling going on, the two men constantly one-upping each other until Kyle kicks Xavier solidly in the face and puts a stop to the entire thing. Xavier rebounds, however, and lands a reverse suplex slam, dazing Kyle just long enough to get a three count.

Big E continues New Day's winning ways by defeating Drago next, and Dolph Ziggler takes Lio Rush out with a superkick leading into the ZigZag. Naito holds his own in a two on one handicapped match against Bray Wyatt and Jeremiah, the latter undisturbed by the leader of fireflies and leading to amused dismissal by his partner, who leaves him to lose. The next match pits Sheamus against Itchweeed, the twitchy, addled man leaving Sheamus confused and wary to approach before he lunges forward and hits a brogue kick, downing him immediately and getting the three count.

Jeff Hardy finally breaks Braun Strowman's winning streak, squirming off of his wide shoulder and dropkicking him in the leg, sending him to one knee before kicking the other side and then solidly in his chest, leaving him sprawled out before scrambling onto the top rope and hitting a twist of fate for the win.

"You cannot be serious," Cesaro mumbles, staring at Zack Ryder as he limps up, hanging onto a crutch desperately. The next match is a tag pitting the two of them against Jack Gallagher and Big Cass, and there's just no way that this is going to go well.

"Sorry, bro," he says, eyes crinkled in pain. "She told me I have to compete or else..." He shrugs. "I'm not sure what power she thinks she has over Smackdown, but I have a brother, and I'm pretty sure Shane values her opinion more than he'd admit, so... I have to do this or she's going to make things even harder for Mojo, and I can't let that happen while he's alone."

"Fine. Let's just... try not to make your knee any worse than it already is, alright?" Cesaro grimaces, aware that he can't tag out now. Cass and Gallagher are all good guys, sure, but they all want a win, desperate for more points to have a title opportunity of their choosing.

It goes about as well as expected- Cesaro fights with all he has, sure, and Gallagher is an honorable gentleman, he and Cass careful not to double-team Cesaro and avoiding where Zack is slumped in the corner, gripping the tag rope pointlessly. At one point, Zack stumbles in to try to help break a pin up, but he doesn't have his crutch and he only makes it a couple of steps before almost falling, Cass moving quickly and pushing him upright and back into the corner, shaking his head at him before he returns to the match, Zack cursing and burying his face in the turnbuckle in disgust at his own uselessness. It's almost a relief when Cass finally defeats Cesaro with the River City Crossing, Zack staring at the mat as he struggles into the ring to stand by Cesaro. "I'm sorry, bro," he mumbles.

"Not your fault," Cesaro grunts, sluggishly getting to his feet while Enzo congratulates Cass, still moving slowly himself after the beat downs from Rusev the last few weeks. "Go and heal your knee, and maybe if we ever have to tag again, it'll go better."

Zack nods, claps Cesaro's shoulder. "Thanks, bro."

Sienna wrecks Carmella with a Saito suplex, and Nick Jackson defeats Sami Zayn after responding to his Helluva kick attempt with a series of superkicks. Christopher Daniels hides on the outside during a Battle Royal successfully enough that he walks out the victor after eliminating a celebrating Bobby Fish, laughing as the crowd boos his dastardly actions. Nagata catches PJ Black mid-dive off of the top rope and takes him out with a bridging belly to back suplex. Becky defeats Bayley upon kicking out of the Bayley to Belly and seguing into a disarmer, putting as much pressure as possible into the submission until she has no choice but to tap. One too many Superman Punches prove to be Roman Reigns' downfall when Randy Orton recovers from a spear, sneaks in and RKOs him with no hesitation, pinning him to a three while the crowd responds mostly positively.

The main event leaves the crowd whispering in some concern as young Maxel Hardy is led to the ring, his eyes wide and inquisitive as he peers around at all of the people. He stares across the ring at the second man he'll have 'wrestled' in his short life, clapping as Kushida argues with the ref over having to wrestle this match. He's just glanced at the toddler when something changes... a strange kind of dazed look crosses his face and he swallows hard, facing Maxel as he waves his arms and chatters excitedly. His eyes tracking the pudgey little hands going back and forth, he steps forward and gives into the broken urges of the child, laying down on the mat and crossing his arms over his chest until Maxel toddles over and pins him, laughing as the referee- who looks suspiciously like Matt Hardy's gardener- lifts him up to celebrate the win.

Their night, however, is not over as Kenny Omega makes it to the ring, scoffing at Kushida. "You think you can trick all of us with this broken nonsense? I've been broken for ages, kid," he says, lightly poking Maxel in the chest. Maxel frets, kicking at the referee until he puts him down. He tries to do to Kenny what he'd done to Kushida, but it doesn't work, Kenny rolling his eyes and tapping his foot impatiently until Maxel grows impatient and tries hard, just to realize it's not working. He starts to throw a fit, hitting his fists against the mat and kicking his little legs around until Kenny sits next to him and presses his hand against his chest, pinning him just long enough for the referee to count it, grinding his teeth in anger at having to do so. Once the bell rings and he's officially the winner, he leans over a dazed Kushida. " _That_ is how it's done," he tells him smugly before leaving the ring.


	56. chapter 56

Considering the holiday week affecting touring and everything else, the wrestlers at the week's event are limited, which is fine. The crowd isn't really mentally up for anything too far out there, so a shorter card is fine with them.

After Marty Scurll and Cesaro work together to take Rusev out of the triple threat match they're in, they brawl back and forth for awhile until Cesaro gets the upperhand. Takes Marty down and then swings him around as the crowd counts. Once he releases him, he locks in the sharpshooter and wrenches back until the man has no choice but to tap, Rusev snarling angrily as he's just a little too late to interrupt.

Lucha Underground's The Mack walks out the victor of an eight man battle royal, and Becky is successful against Bayley and Charlotte. After an excess of superkicks and high risk offense, Rich Swann lands a frog splash and pins Nick successfully.

In the third triple threat match of the night- it's Christmas and originality is at an all time low, after all- Dean Ambrose finds himself facing off with Kofi Kingston and Johnny Mundo. As soon as the bell rings, Johnny goes after his former rival, Kofi, landing a solid kick right to his shoulder. Dean smirks, watching them brawl for a moment, exchanging punches and kicks, before interceding and landing some solid blows of his own before taking a kick from Kofi that rings his bell and nearly sends him clean out of the ring. He rebounds, however, and hits the reverse lariat, knocking Kofi into Mundo and then clotheslining both men over the top rope before diving through the middle rope to send them both to the ground.

As they regroup, he returns to the ring and prepares his next bit of offense just to get met with one of Mundo's boots, knocking him back into the ring and laying prone for the End of the World, which Kofi just manages to rescue him- and the match- from. Dean rolls to safety and listens as his opponents fight wildly above him. He returns after Kofi is knocked from the ring and sends Mundo down with another clothesline, punching him recklessly while he lays prone on the mat. Mundo hits him with a knee to the face before rolling to safety, kicking Dean hard in the spine before going to the top once more. Kofi tries to re-introduce himself to the match but only gets in Dean's way as he grabs Mundo off of the top and slams him down on top of Kingston. Mundo is down, Kofi is motionlessly, and Dean quickly crawls over, pinning Kofi and getting the three count just before Mundo can dive over and try to save the match.

He laughs maniacally as he stumbles up the ramp, thrilled with the win but even more so with the disgusted, angered look on Mundo's face.

As he turns to head backstage, he comes face to face with Seth Rollins, the smirk on his face growing more brittle as they stare at each other, Seth's music hitting and urging him to head to the ring for his own match, the main event of the night. Cool blue eyes still heavy against his skin, Seth squares his shoulders and heads out to wrestle Mojo Rawley in the main event of the night.

Whether thrown by Dean's appearance, or maybe just underestimating the man, Seth is thrown when Mojo gets in more offense than he'd ever expected, the crowd surprised as well when Mojo actually gets a two count after one of his bonerattling forearms in the corner. Seth regroups, however, and kicks Mojo solidly in the face before he could try something else. From there, it's all Seth with knees and wild leaps off of the top rope to down Mojo, leave him fumbling around until Seth can lock in the pedigree and defeat him.

He raises his arms in victory, staring out at the crowd as they cheer him, before he tumbles out of the ring in his standard of controlled chaos and heads up the ramp to where Dean is still standing past the curtain, raising an eyebrow at him as he passes by. "Happy friggin New Year, Ambrose," he says, almost sounding sincere about it.


	57. chapter 57

Stephanie is back this week, relieved that her baby hadn't imploded without her. She roams the halls, running a hand along the wall, and hums under her breath before tacking up the week's match listing, rereading it with a critical eye before nodding and returning to her office. It's another limited week due to that weird period of time between Christmas and New Years, but they're making do with what- and who- they have.

The first match of the night pits Neville against Jeremiah Crane, neither looking overly pleased to be there before locking up. Jeremiah gets immediate advantage, sweeping Neville's legs out from under him, but Neville quickly fights back, downing him with a couple of solid strikes before kicking him in the face. Jeremiah rolls away, grabbing his jaw, before kicking out himself and winding Neville, allowing him the time and space to get back up and lariat him down, just for Neville to quickly rebound, go to the top rope and splash down, sending Jeremiah down awkwardly. From there, it just takes one quick 450 splash and Neville successfully gets the three count, a vicious kind of smirk on his face as he looks out over the crowd before heading up the ramp.

In the first Beat the Clock match of the night, Texano walks out the victor against Sheamus after avoiding a Brogue Kick and responding with a Savate Kick at 2:38, shocking everyone. Luke Gallows fights savagely against Jason Jordan, but ultimately loses when the technically sound man outlasts his power based attacks and suplexes him enough times that Gallows can't move, making it easy enough to successfully pin him. Roman Reigns defeats PJ Black after responding to his attempt at a 450 splash by Superman Punching him out of the sky,

The next Beat the Clock match sees Jack Evans and Chad Gable go blow to blow, trading solid strikes, mixed in with various dives off of the top rope into various corkscrew moves and suplexes, until finally Chad bridges just enough that Evans, panting, uses up the last of his energy to kick out. But before Chad can follow up with anything else, time runs out and the two men are left there, gaping at the 0:00 scrawled across the titantron, confusion and horror on both of their faces as they realize they'd gotten so caught up in one-upping each other in the match, they'd forgotten to keep a closer eye on the clock.

Charlotte and Alexa Bliss find themselves fighting together to keep Nia Jax down and out in the Ultimate X match they've been booked in- Charlotte's natural selection setting Nia up for Twisted Bliss finally accomplishing it, the two women then take the opportunity to climb the ropes and shimmy over to the large X waiting in the middle of the scaffolding, Alexa struggling to kick Charlotte off- just to take a solid boot to the face herself, landing with a hard thud on the mat and forced to watch as Charlotte grabs the X and the win.

The final Beat the Clock match ends with no winner either as Cage and Karl Anderson fight for that little bit advantage but never quite get there, both kicking out at every crucial moment until the time runs out, meaning that Texano retains best time the point. "Son of a bitch!" Cage hisses, punching the mat before leaving in a rage.

The main event sees a triple threat of AJ Styles vs Cesaro vs Rich Swann. Despite their best attempt to keep Swann down, he keeps fighting back, his speed highflying moves finding some success against them until Cesaro uppercuts him just right and he tumbles off of the top rope onto the floor outside. This allows AJ the time to try to catch Cesaro with a phenomenal forearm when he turns his attention off of the downed man, just for Cesaro to react ridiculously quickly and grabbing him out of thin air for a Cesaro swing. AJ struggles just to stand once he's released, but Cesaro is fine, relatively speaking, and tries to twist his legs around into the sharpshooter... just for AJ to spin him off and get to his feet finally, meeting Cesaro with an enziguiri. One Styles Clash later and it's all over, AJ laughing breathlessly upon realizing he'd gotten the three count, Swann only just recovering enough to peer over the apron in disappointment.

Once everyone is settled backstage, getting ready to leave for the night to spend the rest of the holidays with their family and friends, Stephanie makes a rare appearance in the locker room. "Hello, everyone. Just a quick announcement Since this cycle of Team Work is concluding after the Royal Rumble, everyone with one point will be kicked out of the contest. Remember, you can still compete in matches to try to take points from those still in, but you won't actually be competing." She smirks as an unhappy buzz fills the room. "Alright, Happy New Years, everyone. See you next week."


	58. chapter 58

2017\. Stephanie stares at the TV screen, pursing her lips. She closes her eyes and taps her fingers against her arms, tilting her head. She's glad to put 2016 behind her, but she's not sure what to expect from the year ahead. Either way, she squares her shoulders and turns back to the event she's in the middle of booking. Jotting down a few more names, she hands the paper over to the tech behind her and nods at him before turning to look back at the monitor, not eager to see any member of the roster right now.

The first match of the night pits TJ Perkins against Johnny Mundo, the two men eyeing each other as they prepare for the match, Mundo stretching out and smirking as TJ stares back at him. Used to the hand shaking rule WWE had implemented, TJ approaches John with his hand outstretched, just for it to be kicked away, Mundo quickly following it up with further kicks to Perkins' side and the back of his leg, staggering him. He tries to recover, get some offense in, but Mundo doesn't allow it, quickly kicking him off of the turnbuckle and kneeing him in the back when he sits up. TJ stumbles up to his feet and gets met with another knee to the face, dropping to his knees and wavering.

When Mundo grabs him to put him into position for the End of the World, TJ fights out and sends Mundo over onto his back, climbing up the top rope and diving off, hitting a high knee. His attempt at getting back into a offensive role is stopped short when Mundo gets back to his feet and hits an enziguiri, sending him into the ropes and knocking him down to the mat. He's still laying there, motionless, when Mundo goes up and spins off, hitting the End of the World finally and pinning TJ, defeating him.

The next match is Sexy Star vs Becky vs Carmella, who is accompanied by James Ellsworth. He looks anxious and uncomfortable as she leaves him at ringside, running her fingers through his hair and winking before getting into the ring. Once the bell rings, Becky and Star target Carmella, each gripping a side and slamming her over, sending her rolling out of the ring to where James is waiting, trying to fan her off and comfort her as she fusses and grips her aching back. This allows Star and Becky to brawl in the ring, fighting for dominance. Star punches her hard before kneeing her in the midsection and again in the face. Becky grabs at her mouth and is unable to defend as Star grips her under the arm and slings her backwards, climbing up the turnbuckles and hitting a moonsault, just for Becky to kick out.

As Star rolls off, trying to figure out how Becky kicked out of that, Carmella returns to the match and kicks Star in the arm, trying to weaken her for the Code of Silence... just to get met by a suplex from Becky, almost sent clear out of the ring again. "Oh come on!" she cries out, encouraged by James hitting the apron in support of her. But she barely makes it to her feet when Star grabs her and drags her over to the turnbuckles, hoisting her up and trying to snag her to sweep her off when Becky sneaks up behind them and rolls Star up, Carmella diving off of the top rope and kicking them away from each other. Star dropkicks Carmella into Becky, their heads colliding and knocking Becky out sufficiently enough that, this time, when Star returns to the top and dives off for a moonsault, this proving to be just enough to keep Carmella down for the three count. While Star celebrates the win, James scuttles in and pulls Carmella to safety, struggling to keep her upright until he can wrap her arm around his shoulders and drag her up the ramp.

Rusev defeats Moose, Abyss, Vinnie Marseglia, Matt Jackson and Braun Strowman in a six man match, and Sienna walks out the victor against Nia, looking breathless and sore as she stares up at the larger woman in awe of her own luck. Lucha Underground's Vibora shocks the world- or at least the crowd- by taking out Shibata with a roll up. Undisturbed by Beer City Bruiser's size and his surprising speed despite it, Roman Reigns defeats him after back to back superman punches, followed by Nick Jackson winning an Elimination Chamber against Jinder Mahal, Matt Taven, Jay Briscoe, Dean Ambrose and Eddie Edwards.

The next match pits Crazzy Steve and Chad Gable against Drago in a 2 on 1 match, Chad wishing he had Jason in his corner for this as Steve stares at him, a demented look on his pale face under the makeup. Steve snapping at him with yellowed, uneven teeth, Gable stumbles back and tries to focus, although his partner is lurking behind him and making him uncomfortable. Despite everything, Drago doesn't have much chance and after some of Steve's impossible offense off the top, Chad tags in and follows up with a bridging German suplex, pinning Drago and gets the three count.

After Drew Gulak defeats TK O'Ryan, there's another triple threat match with Baron Corbin against Kazuchika Okada against Xavier Woods. The three men stare at each other, Xavier not in any hurry to go against NJPW champion, nad Baron Corbin, without Big E or Kofi anywhere nearby. It doesn't stop him from trying when Baron escapes Okada's attempt at opening offense, grabbing Xavier and hoisting him up so they're eye to eye before shaking his roughly. "If I have to make a demonstration out of you by winning this match, I'm ok with that." He's about to hit an early End of Days when Okada dropkicks him perfectly in the middle of the spine, making him drop Okada as he stumbles toward, almost getting tangled in the ropes.

Okada chuckles. Circles him, just to get gripped and clotheslined sodlidly to the mat. He struggles to recover, gasping for oxygen, Xavier saves the day by recovering enough to dropkick Corbin away, Okada leaning against the ropes while those two fight, exchanging punches and elbows until Xavier falters, unable to defend as Baron hoists him up and rams him into the turnbuckle opposite Okada, who finally gets the strength to move, blasting Corbin with a forearm and wrenching his arm back in a submission just to give himself time to catch his breath, think things out a little further. Xavier tries again to get offense in, but when Okada releases the hold, he finds himself on the other end of a rainmaker, the only thing keeping Okada from pinning him right then and there being Corbin booting Okada away and pinning him himself, just for Okada to dive right in time to break up the pin.

As Xavier rolls out of the ring, Okada and Corbin square off once more, Okada getting booted right in the face but rebounding with the kind of gritty determination that months, years, of training under Gedo's eyes have brought him. Returning each strike with one of his own, Okada finally grabs Corbin as he staggers and hits a solid Rainmaker, sending him down to the mat and pinning him before Xavier could recover enough to get back into the ring, disappointment crossing his face as he stares across the apron and tries to accept a loss here while Okada poses smugly, not even minding that Baron is still at his feet, struggling to get up while snarling in anger.

Next is a tag match, Chris Sabin and Lucha Underground's Pindar against Jason Jordan and SIlas Young. Jason fights with everything in him but somewhere between wrestling a man in a lizard costume, and not getting along with Silas at all, his rough voice grating at Jason from the moment htey'd met, he loses to Sabin and groans, slamming a fist against the mat in disappointment.

The main event pits Swoggle against Karl Anderson and there's just nothing for it- after losing to Cesaro the week prior, Anderson takes all of his frustration out on the short man, taking him down with boots and hoisting him up to slam him back down, even getting down on his hands and knees to punc him. Swoggle tries to fight back but Anderson has seen enough of his matches to know and so he doesn't give Swoggle a minute to breathe before Anderson goes to the second rope, diving off and hitting a neckbreaker on Swoggle, officially downing him long enough for the thee count, Karl relishing the easy victory as he smirks out at the crowd before him, finally feeling like he's redeemed himself after hte week prior.


	59. chapter 59

Dealing with Mick Foley's drama makes her all the more pleased to move on to working on Team Work, booking and dealing with the scoring, and amusing herself with some of the nonsense she thinks up.

The first match is an Ultimate X, Kevin Owens, John Cena, Brian Cage and Jay Lethal staring at each other as they enter the ring, slowly turning to look up at the X dangling teasingly overhead. Owens starts to laugh in disbelief that the four of them could be put in such a match, when only Lethal has a truly believable shot at shimmying across the ropes and getting the X. Not that the others don't try though, the brawl quickly separating into Cage and Lethal, Cena and Owens exchanging blows in the middle of the ring, Owens gripping Cena and powerbombing him just to stomp across his chest before clunking Lethal and Cage's heads together, moving to climb the rope. He hesitates before leaping towards the X, just grazing it with his fingertips before crashing to the mat. Lethal goes up top next, scrambling across the ropes just for Cage to grip his legs when he has ahold of the X, loosening his grip and sending him fumbling to the mat below, the X slipping free and falling to the mat at Cage's feet. Ignoring the audience's boos, he sneers and picks it up, officially the winner.

Triple threat women's match follows this and, despite Charlotte and Carmella working together to take Nia out of the contest, Charlotte quickly takes Carmella out with a Natural Selection and pins her, leaving the princess of Staten Island to stumble painfully up the ramp to where James Ellsworth is waiting to support her the rest of the way. Kenny King defeats Jason Jordan after a thumb to the eye behind the referee's back, and Jeff Hardy takes out Cody with a twist of fate.

Jack Gallagher comes out once the ring is emptied, waving cordially to the crowd on his way to the ring. Kazuchika Okada joins him, still bruised but willing to fight, the two men standing side by side as their opponents- Rhett Titus and Matanza head down the ramp as well, Rhett not looking thrilled with who his partner is, but knowing he can't do anything about it. Rhett and Jack start the match off, Jack confounding him with his eclectic offense, until Matanza gets impatient and tags in, startling Rhett further. Okada tags in as well and the two of them square off in the middle of the ring, the IWGP champion seemingly undisturbed by Matanza's bulk. Matanza barely flinches from every strike that Okada attempts, and finally downs him with a chop to the upper chest, throat area, which sends Okada collapsing at his feet. Jack tries to help but Rhett intercepts and bodyslams him away, leaving Okada to get mauled by the demonic competitor, left vulnerable to a reverse spin powerslam and the pin.

Beat the Clock starts next and Neville glares down at Lashley, not intimidated in the slightest as the larger man approaches the ring. Once the bell rings, it's Neville's speed against Lashley's strength and Lashley fails repeatedly at getting a good hold on him, Neville landing kicks and knees whenever he gets too close. Finally Lashley tries slower, more methodical bits of offense, getting ahold of Neville and holding him in place for a powerbomb... but Neville plants his feet on the top rope and elbows Lashley until he releases him, getting a better base on the top before standing up and kneeing him hard in the head, staggering him before landing an enziguiri and rushing back up top once Lashley hits the mat. One splash later and it ends in 5:28, Neville looking on with smug pleasure as he leaves the room before Lashley can recover enough to go after him.

Kofi Kingston defeats Texano with Trouble in Paradise and in the second Beat the Clock match of the night, Chad Gable lasts against Matt Hardy's brokenness but neither succeed at beating the time, so the match ends with them unsatisfied and grumbling as they head backstage.

"You shouldn't be here," Stephanie says boredly, pointedly ignoring the man before her as she peers down at the event card. "I checked, you didn't win a match this week. The exit is that way." She hooks her thumb over her shoulder and rolls her eyes when he laughs roughly.

"Always trying to get rid of me, aren't you?" He stands before her, hands outstretched. "Trust me, it'll be an enjoyable spectacle. This guy is green, he's pointless. The kind of thing that brings the business down. He's only where he's at because of his wife. You would know all about that claim, wouldn't you?" She glares up at him and he smirks. "But you've seen him compete. You know, he's bad. This probably won't run him out of the business but it'll maybe teach him some humility and encourage him to learn how this all is supposed to work."

She exhales. Shrugs. "Fine. Now will you leave my event?"

"Already gone," Ethan Carter III promises, halfway down the hall as she glares after him, quickly reshuffling her match plans to accomodate his suggestion to the best of her ability.

Braxton Sutter frowns as he walks to the ring. His night had started with a one v one match, but a tech had caught him before he'd pushed through gorilla to tell him that he was now wrestling a gauntlet match. His first opponent is Caprice Coleman and he beats him after some back and forth, reversing Caprice's attempt at a scoop slam into a flatliner. That hadn't been too stenuous but his next match is against Sheamus and a fair amount of Sutter's hope fades away, Sheamus laughing at him as he struggles to wipe some of the sweat out of his eyes after only a few blows. Sheamus' strikes feel like hammers against Sutter's head, but there's nothing Sutter can do against him... until he avoids a brogue kick and lands a neckbreaker, leaping up to the top and hitting a 450 splash, pinning Sheamus for the three count.

Sutter leans against the ropes, certain that he's got it, that nothing else can be thrown at him... when the lights go out and Jericho's music hits, Sutter pale and shaky when the lights come back on. Jericho comes down to the ring with a purpose, freshly won US title belt around his waist. It's over in only a couple of minutes, Jericho swatting away Sutter's exhausted attempts at offense like they're nothing, finally landing a codebreaker and pinning him.

The main event is the final Beat the Clock match, pitting Cass vs Kalisto. In a blurry recreation of of Neville vs Lashley, Kalisto runs circles around Cass until he's grabbed by the neck, Cass slinging him away and landing an Empire Elbow on his midsection in an attempt to finish it well ahead of time. This doesn't work, however, Kalisto struggling back to his feet and glaring at Cass from the holes of his mask as he adjusts it, gritting his teeth against the pain. Cass tries grabbing him again but Kalisto twists him around and spikes him into the mat, leaving him gasping for air and awareness. Cass staggers as he hits the ropes and rubs at his face, trying to blink away the stars burning through his retinas. Kalisto legdrops him from the top rope, sending him down to the mat, and he groans, kicking out with enough force to send the smaller man across the ropes and tangling him up in the bottom rope.

It gives Cass enough time to get up and grab him but before he can even land a boot or any other kind of offense, there's a loud, echoing kind of awful noise, followed by the bell ringing to mark the end of the match. Time had run out. Neville's winning time holds. Cass collapses to his knees and rubs at his face, frustrated.

Kalisto is as unhappy with it all as he is, slapping his fists against the mat before getting to his feet and holding a hand out to Cass as he makes his way slowly up to his feet. They shake hands, Cass nodding respectfully at him, before leaving the ring to find Enzo. Make sure he hasn't gotten into any serious trouble while Cass was competing.


	60. chapter 60

Stephanie is in a mood. It's less than two weeks until the Rumble and, although things are piecing together, she can't help but feel like nothing's going right. Reigns is in her face a lot, and this issue with Seth and HHH just keeps dragging on and on and on, reminding her of how immature a lot of people in this business are. She taps her pen against the match list, making a few notations, before sending it along to be put up so the night can progress, so she can go home, get some sleep.

Her mood doesn't improve when the show begins with Chris Jericho facing off against Drew Galloway. They fight back and forth, brutal hits and kicks exchanged, Jericho trying to find a way to hit the Codebreaker or lock in the Walls, something, anything, but Drew is fresh off of an injury and has no lingering aches and pains to hold him back, ending the match decisively by landing the Future Shock, Jericho unable to recover enough to kick out.

Speaking of returned wrestlers, Brooke Tessmacher defeats Alexa Bliss afterwards, using the momentum for Alexa's attempt at Twisted Bliss and turning it against her by slamming her into a facebuster. Yano defeats Marty Scurll with a scoop brainbuster, and Jeff Hardy takes out Naito after escaping him and leaping into a twist of fate that downs him easily. NJPW's iffy luck this evening continues as Kushida makes Aron Rex tap out after a flurry of kicks and knees weakens his arm leading into a kimura lock.

Kevin Owens faces off with Trevor Lee, lingering frustrations over how _his_ Rumble is shaping up leaving him quickly hitting Lee with enough force to lay him out, immediately kneeling down and punching, kicking, any part of him he can reach. Lee has no chance, really, the only thing registering with Kevin being the referee yelling at him. He's still in the contest, he still has a chance, so he fights to not ruin _that_ for himself. _I might need that title opportunity down the road, after all,_ he thinks, hoisting Lee's limp body up and slamming him back down in a vicious popup powerbomb that rattles the entire ring.

Rockstar Spud is the next out, looking just a little anxious as he holds the mic up. "I dedicate this match to my employer, Aron Rex." He sings his name obnoxiously and then squares his shoulders. "I won't let you down." Marching purposely to the ring, he tears off his blue pants to reveal the white gear below and then waits for his opponent, lips twitching like he's fighting not to grimace when the New Day music hits and Big E saunters down to the ring, suggestively swirling his hips until Spud looks away, uncomfortable. Big E has early advantage, all but throwing Spud aside when he locks up with him upon the bell's ringing, Spud sputtering in offense and charging at Big E like a miniature bull ready for a fight until- Big E is moving lewdly again and Spud skids to a stop, scrambling backwards. "Hey! Make him stop that!" he yells at the referee.

While the referee rebukes Big E, Spud finds his things in the corner, quickly sliding on a couple of Aron's rings and turning around just before the referee turns to check on him. He nods and lunges forward, caught by Big E's massive arms and slung over his head to prepare for a teeth chattering belly to belly suplex. But Spud acts first, striking with his ring covered knuckles and dazing Big E enough that he hits the mat, sliding the rings away before the referee could realize what he'd done. Diving onto a pin, Spud closes his eyes and holds on with everything in him until finally the three count is hit, Big E defeated. He runs a victory lap around the ring, before dashing up the ramp, grinning wildly and linging to the rings Aron had so kindly let him borrow.

Eli Drake defeats Cedric Alexander, who is still this side of distracted thanks to one Alicia Fox, and Dean Ambrose is successful against Braun Strowman, his crazy offense just enough to stay ahead of the much larger man.

The main event of the night is an Elimination Chamber match, pitting Big Cass, Christopher Daniels, Bram, Ishii, Ariya Davairi, and Enzo Amore against each other. Bram and Daniels start the night off, brawling around the treacherous cage as time ticked down for those trapped in the chambers to be released to join the fight. Cass is out first and Enzo pounds on his glass to cheer his boy on as he takes out both Bram and Daniels with big boots, roaring in success before covering Daniels, who only just kicks out. He doesn't survive the next so easily, Bram snagging him with a solid punch that sends him right into Cass for the east river crossing and the pin. The two bigger men eye each other, neither looking impressed with what they see, until the timer goes off once more and Enzo is released.

Bram is on him immediately, snagging him by his wild hair and sending him flying into the chain. Cass snarls, fingers flexing, but before he can get to Bram, Enzo is back in the ring just to get slammed solidly onto the steel grating on the outside. As soon as he turns around, he's met with Cass' boot and sprawls out, breathing funny after a hit that enforceful. Cass only just registers the timer going off once more as he eliminates Bram, scrambling to his feet and pulling a dazed Enzo back in, patting his back. "You ok, Zo?!"

There's no time to answer as Ishii enters, immediately pulling Cass away from Enzo and German suplexing him away in an impressive show of strength. Enzo turns, tries to help his partner, but fails, meeting a headbutt from Ishii that staggers him back into the ropes. Another suplex later and Enzo is gone. Before Cass can stagger up and do something, get revenge for his best friend, Ariya Davairi is released last and lands a solid kick to Cass' skull, causing him to slump towards Ishii and making it easy for him to get caught in an enzuigiri, the brainbuster that follows doing him in the rest of the way. However, Ishii hands Ariya first, responding to his grudgingly respectful handshake with a solid strike to the jaw, hoisting him up and bridging him into the same suplex that had defeated Enzo, eliminiating him with haste.

By now, Cass has staggered to his feet, a pained kind of smirk on his face. "Congrats, you eliminated everyone... but that means you're stuck with _me._ " Despite Ishii's somewhat iffy understanding of English, he seems to get that Cass is far from respectful and they begin fighting, exchanging elbows and blows until Ishii snags him, hoists him up and over once more. This time the German is successful and Ishii grits his teeth, clinging onto the much larger man with everything in him until finally the three count is achieved, Ishii has won. Cass is far from pleased, but he's aware there's nothing he can do about it so he turns his back on the celebrating man and goes backstage to check on his tag partner.


	61. chapter 61

Stephanie rolls her eyes. Grits her teeth. Runs her fingers through her hair in agitation. Wrestlemania is approaching, Seth continues to be a problem and HHH is his typical, smug, unbothered self. _Men,_ she thinks, tapping her nails against the sheet with the matches for the night's show before her. _Idiots._

The list is put up, the show begins. Stephanie tries to focus. The first match for a beat the clock challenge kicks the night off, with Lashley defeating Marty Scurll with one of his bonerattling suplexes in 2:42. Mojo Rawley fights EVIL next and, although EVIL has the upperhand a fair amount of the match, Mojo regroups and lands a solid strike in the corner with his knee that downs the man, leaves him prone long enough for a three count. Rusev competes against Jeff Hardy next and for every powerful move Rusev manages, Jeff is right there with a reckless move sometimes off of the top rope. It's this that ends him, as Rusev plucks him out of the sky just about and slams him down, stomps on his back, locks in the accolade and wrenches back, twisting him into the _super_ version of the move until he screams out that he gives up, the pain too much to bear on his already tortured back after years of highflying moves and careless stunts outside of the ring leading to their own fair share of injuries. No broken nonsense leading to some ridiculous victory here, not tonight.

A triple threat match that Braun Strowman makes quick work of both Dean Ambrose and Drew Galloway during follows this. Nia Jax wrestles Nikki Bella and Stephanie wonders for a moment if there's some confusion over which matches are Beat the Clock challenges because everyone is rushing, wrestling as fast as they can, defeating their opponents in a matter of moments. For Nia, it hadn't been difficult, especially with Nikki's well known neck injury. The next match _is_ the second in the Beat the Clock challenges and Neville and Sanada wrestle as quick a style as they can, brutally kicking and punching each other until Sanada misses a dive off of the top and Neville lands an enzuigiri that leaves him sprawling on the mat, helpless and weak. Neville locks in his armbar submission and wrenches back, watching as the final seconds of the clock tick away. He puts more pressure, all but yelling in frustration when time runs out and the match is called, neither man succeeding at defeating Lashley's earlier time.

Titus O'Neil and Dolph Ziggler compete next and Titus' lumbering form isn't enough to keep Ziggler down, the man able to escape most of the offense levied at him and hit a superkick or two enough to stagger Titus and eventually leave him vulnerable to the ZigZag and a pin. Randy Orton easily takes out Jinder Mahal next, the man's muscular form not enough to keep Randy from hitting an RKO out of nowhere upon Jinder's weak attempt at leaping off of the top rope onto him.

Becky is in a gauntlet match next, first wrestling TNA's Rosemary. The woman is wild, demented, and Becky only just barely eakes out a win after avoiding The Red Wedding and floating it over into the Disarmer, wrenching back until Rosemary taps out angrily, rolling out of the ring with a hoarse, bitter sort of yell. Charlotte is next and, considering Becky is worn out and a little raw after her match against the uncertain craziness that is Rosemary, she loses quickly to the PPV queen after eating a couple of knees followed by a Natural Selection.

Naomi stomps her foot by the curtain. "You have got to be kidding me!" she exclaims, her match against Becky now canceled since Becky has lost. Green streaked hair flying every which way, she turns on her thick sneakers and stomps off.

Following this is a two on one handicapped match, pitting TJP and Bushi against Rich Swann. The two cruiserweights shake hands respectfully but Bushi ignores the kindness, pacing back and forth until the bell rings. Swann tries to fight to a victory but against two men would be hard for anyone, even with the referee upholding tagging in and getting out. Bushi's punches daze Rich and leave him unable to defend against TJP's heel hook, struggling to get to the ropes but ultimately needing to consider his future rematch against Neville for his cruiserweight title, tapping desperately until TJP releases him, pats him on the shoulder sympathetically before his arm is raised by the referee, Bushi on the other side getting the same treatment.

The final Beat the Clock challenge match of the night pits Goto against Yohei of the Tempura Boyz, and they have as much luck as Neville and Sanada did in theirs, unable to beat Lashley's time and leaving him the all around winner.

Main event sees a ten man Battle Royal, DJZ, Kevin Owens, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Jay Briscoe, Mustafa Ali, Sho, John Cena and Jack Gallagher wandering around the ring until the bell rings and, with Gallows and Anderson too sweeting each other quickly, the match begins. Cena and Owens go right for each other while the others slowly split apart, brawling, just for Gallows and Anderson to immediately target Mustafa Ali and eliminate him over the top rope like he's nothing. Sho goes next, Jay Briscoe tossing him thoughtlessly over the top rope and not even glancing over when he lands poorly and the crowd reacts in varying noises of disgust and worry. Jack Gallagher greets DJZ with a knee to the face and Zema responds by punching him, diving into him and pushing him into the turnbuckle, hoisting him up and tangling his legs around Jack's neck and twisting him back off of the post to the apron below.

Owens pushes away from the turnbuckle, shoulderchecks Zema down and grabs Jack, bodying him over the top and laughing mockingly down at him as he's eliminated. Zema is next to go, Anderson and Gallows targetting him next, Luke booting him clear over the ropes while Anderson holds them down to ensure he topples over with no chance to recover in time. Jay Briscoe and Matt Hardy are grappling in the corner, trying to get the upperhand, when Gallows and Anderson make another appearance and send them both over, Matt gripping to the top rope and laughing in their faces while Jay grips his ridiculously ugly jacket, holding on in a struggle to get his balance back. Clotheslines from Luke weakens Jay's grip and then Anderson lunges in and punches at his fists, Luke slamming forward and booting Jay in the face, dazing him enough to cause him to release his grip and eliminate both him and Matt in one strike.

Their attempts at celebrating are short lived when Owens punches Anderson and hoists him up while Cena grabs Gallows by the arm, Owens powerbombing Karl over the top rope on one side and Cena slams Gallows over the side. They then turn to look at each other, falling into this old, familiar circle once more as the cheers or boos to their heart's content. They immediately drop closer and start exchanging punches, Owens moving into a forearm shiver when Cena attempts to get closer. He forces Cena back up, wanting to eliminate him quickly, but Cena fights out and elbows him hard in the mouth, dazing him. Owens staggers and catches him, trying to lift him into a powerbomb position, just to feel Cena wiggle free and dropkick Owens, sending him up and over. He crouches on the apron, struggling to hold on, regain control of his body, when Cena hits him with the soles of his shoes in a dropkick that sends him out and over, giving the final victory of the night to, of course, Cena.

As he celebrates overhead, Owens lays there and stares at the lights, annoyed and frustrated, "Dammit!" he yells, pounding his fists against the mats, seeing Cena's obnoxiously colored clothes overhead as he poses for the crowd. "Panderer..."


	62. chapter 62

Stephanie taps her nails against her chin. In the haste of the week prior between HHH finally confronting Seth and getting him out of their hair for, hopefully, another Wrestlemania season, it had completely slipped her mind. _You're better than that,_ she chides herself before squaring her shoulders and making the announcement to audience and roster alike. "Last week was the final week of the cycle for Team Work. For obvious reasons, I forgot to mention it but, of course, Neville is the winner for the second time." She rolls her eyes and forges ahead. "You may select another title opportunity of your choice in whatever federation you wish." Mumbles just loud enough for the mic to catch it, "Maybe this time you'll have better luck."

His expression continues to be as angry as ever so she proceeds on, voice rising. "Another cycle, another chance at glory. Let's see who succeeds!" As she walks back to her office, the audience chanting and cheering behind her, she feels moderately less like a failure for forgetting.

A tag match starts the night off, pitting James Storm and Matt Taven against Matt Jackson and AJ Styles. Although Storm and Taven clearly are reluctant to partner together, it has nothing on the open disdain between AJ and Matt, the two men exchanging words before even getting off of the entrance ramp, old anger from NJPW brimming over until they're close to exchanging punches right then and there. The referee snaps them out of it, however, and they slip into the ring, glaring over at their opponents until the bell rings and AJ and James start things off, their former issues in TNA also welling up to the forefront. Forearms and kicks, hiptosses and bodyslams... until Taven slips over the ropes and tags in, smirking over at AJ as Storm angrily ducks behind the ropes, fingers tensing into fists as he glowers at his tag partner for the evening.

"Heard of me, _champ?_ " Taven calls at him. "I'm the first ever six man tag champ of ROH and the leader of the Kingdom."

"So? I'm a..." he falters. "I'm a former world heavyweight champ, didn't need a bunch'a other guys supportin' me." Taven's eyes flash and then he lunges forward, continuing what Storm had started. Matt Jackson _almost_ looks amused when AJ flinches, surprised by Taven's unexpected offense. He catches him after awhile, though, throwing him aside in a desperate push before diving in and tagging out, the Young Bucks teammate looking annoyed as he gets into the ring. Taven and Jackson face each other, exchanging frustrated glances before Taven steps forward- and immediately drops back, just avoiding a superkick.

From there, it's on, Taven constantly avoiding the attacks while Jackson struggles to land something sufficient enough to defeat him. This backfires eventually, Taven snagging Jackson and twists him around before landing a headlock driver that dazes him immediately. AJ rolls his eyes, delaying the inevitable before going in to help... just for Storm to run in and elbow him between the shoulderblades, clenching the three count and victory for Taven.

The victories for The KIngdom continue as TK O'Ryan defeats Eddie KIngston in the next match, and Bram walks out victorous in a triple threat match against Big Cass and Tony Nese after sending Cass out of the ring early and decimating Nese with a lifting DDT.

Dolph Ziggler, riding high from his new mindset, is the big winner in a six man match after pinning Trent Baretta while Drew Galloway and Sheamus brawl on the outside, Sami Zayn and Trevor Lee motionless on the apron after being Brogue Kicked and superkicked, left to absorb their losses upon shaking off the bonerattling moves.

Becky wrestles Bayley next, the two of them fighting back and forth, Bayley's attempt at a Belly to Bayley quickly failing as Becky squirms out, then kicks her hard enough to daze her for a successful lock in of the Disarmer, which leaves her no choice but to tap, not wanting to risk her chances at becoming Raw's woman's champion.

The Kingdom ends up 3 for 3 when Vinnie Marseglia gets the pin against Takahashi, Taven and O'Ryan joining him on the entrance ramp with their title belts to do the four fingers Kingdom symbol, the three of them smug and pleased with their accomplishments for the evening.

After Sienna and Naomi make their way to the ring, both watch unimpressed as Carmella moonwalks down the ramp, James Ellsworth by her side. They roll their eyes as he helps her up the stairs, Carmella shooing him off after handing him her cap and necklace. Bell rings and they quickly send her rolling out of the ring, turning their attention to the real challenge in the ring- each other. Sienna has strong punches, and Naomi's legs are a weapon on their own, so they fight back and forth while James struggles to get Carmella up, moving, without risking the referee's ire. Eventually Naomi sweeps Sienna down with a spinning heel kick that lays her flat ont he mat, dazed... but before Naomi could finish off the match, Carmella returns and all but dives feet first into Naomi, pushing her out of the ring with a rough yell. Turning back to Sienna, she dusts her hands off, smirk growing upon her face once more before she twists the woman up in the Code of Silence, rearing back with everything in her until Sienna has no option but to tap, face ruddy and tear-streaked. Carmella laughs and hugs James back as he rushes in to celebrate with her.

Cesaro faces off with Nick Jackson next, making quick enough work of him after gripping his legs following a failed superkick attempt, and sending him swinging for a 20 count before locking in the sharpshooter and keeping him far enough away from the ropes until he gives in and taps. Following this, Bray Wyatt walks out the winner after defeating Donovan Dijak with Sister Abigail, Rocky Romero down on the outside and unable to help after a solid kick to the face had sent him tumbling away from the triple threat match.

Bray's good fortune, however, does not bleed through to the other members of the Wyatt family as Randy Orton faces off against Cody and Lashley in a triple threat match of his own. Orton and Lashley both ignore Cody, swatting him aside as meaningless as a fly in their determination to fight each other, neither expecting as the man bounces back, knees Lashley solidly in the face, sweeps Randy's feet out from under him, and then traps him in a figure four leglock, Orton struggling against the pain and trying to find something, anything to cling to and failing. Lashley has recovered and he surveys this for a few moments before grabbing Cody by the head and drawing him up, preparing to slam him on top of Orton when Cody recovers, fights free after a few solid punches, elbows and kicks that eventually wind Lashley, allows him to get his arms around Lashley's neck and find some strength, some momentum that sends him cracking Lashley's head against the mat while the full brunt of his weight crashes down onto Orton, who wheezes and rolls out of the ring, grabbing at his ribs and struggling for a breath. Cody closes his eyes as he pins Lashley, cackling once he realizes that he's won, Orton's dark eyes locked on him as his arm is raised in victory.

The main event wakes the crowd up as Enzo Amore makes his way down to ringside, Cass joining him long enough to do their intro before retreating back up the ramp to let Enzo carry on with the match on his own after a quick bro-hug, their way of wishing each other good luck. Enzo shuffles around the ring, looking unconcerned as Trouble Trouble Trouble echoes through the arena, Ethan Carter III coming out. He's bruised, and battered after a beatdown on TNA the week prior, but seems determined to compete anyway.

It's difficult to catch Enzo on a good day, though, and all he can do is try to snag the hyperactive man, get in some offense whenever Enzo's close enough... it's not working out that well, Enzo's punches surprisingly strong, and Ethan is quickly gritting his teeth against the pain, gripping his bruised side and allowing Enzo the time and distance to rush forward, get a headlock in and plant Ethan to the mat in a rattling DDT. He lays there, dazed, hearing more than feeling as Enzo sweeps him around into an awkward pin, only just kicking out when the ref hits 2. The crowd buzzing, Enzo is spitting out rough curses next to him, and Ethan finds himself chuckling brokenly. How he gets to his feet, he's not sure, but Enzo is running at him and Ethan catches him mid-crossbody attempt and moves to hit the 1%er, but Enzo lands a strike right in the middle of his bruise and Ethan _crumples._ Hits the mat, dizzy and nauseous and Enzo climbs to the top, doing Air Enzo without Cass for once, his knees planting just right and leaving Ethan close to blacking out as the pinfall is counted.

He feels the mat shudder beneath him as Enzo dances in celebration, it the only thing that grounds him right now as he struggles to grab the bottom rope, pull himself up. He struggles for a breath, his ribs on fire, but as he turns to look, Enzo's grinning so hard- for a minute, he sees another ridiculous, blond haired man after a win. Blinks, and the illusion is gone. Enzo is staring at him with a strange look on his face, grin slipping. "Hey, y'alright? I didn't injure ya or nothin' did I?" Enzo seems flustered, which surprises Ethan- most people _try_ to hurt each other in this business, like that'll cinch their place in it, or something.

"No more than I was already," he allows, lips twitching up as Enzo squints, trying to figure out what he means. "Good match, man," he finally says, taking away the confusion and holding out his free hand to shake Enzo's. After a moment's hesitation, Enzo meets him halfway and shakes his hand enthusiastically, a shred of respect passing between them as the crowd reacts positively.


	63. chapter 63

Stephanie is frustrated. Mick isn't working out as well as she'd hoped, leaving her with the bulk of the weight for Raw, which takes away a lot of her free time to focus on Team Work. Thankfully, it's just coasting until closer to Wrestlemania, when another new cycle will begin, so it could be worse, but still. She exhales, picks at her fingernails. Stares at the screen as the first match starts. Lashley, of course, makes quick work of Jay Lethal, having found a new lease on life since becoming champion again. Barely flinches at most of his offense, and then lifts him into a brutal slam that shakes the ring and leaves him motionless for the pin.

TJ Perkins is out next, facing off against Bram, and the audience seems more concerned than the inaugural Cruiserweight Champion. He smirks and greets Bram with punches, harsh kicks and, when the chance arises, puts as much focus on Bram's leg as he can, weakening it for his submission hold. All it takes is a lucky shot with his dropkick and Bram screams out as if he's been shot, dropping to the mat and writhing around in agony. TJP moves, quickly, and locks in the kneelock, bridging into a cloverleaf and wrenching back with everything in him until Bram has to tap or risk his leg completely shattering under him.

Stephanie rolls her eyes at the next match. She'd tried, really she had. Told Chris Jericho he didn't need to do this, could forfeit the points and go on about his business... but he'd laughed at her, immediately wheezing and grabbing his side. "Mojo Rawley," he exhales. "Yeah right. I'll wrestle." She suspects he's going to try to see Kevin Owens when he looks at Mojo, but it's not enough. He's so weak, in so much pain, that one punch from Mojo sends him crumpling to the mat. Mojo clearly doesn't like this but pin attempts doing work, Jericho stubbornly kicking out again and again until Mojo has no choice. Throws him into the corner, hits his forearm, and sends Jericho down, hard and fast. The pin this time is uncontested, Mojo bounces up the ramp a winner while Jericho struggles just to catch his breath.

Once things calm down, are back to normal, Will Ospreay defeats Eddie Kingston, and Jey Uso defeats Big E in 6:24 to win the first round of the evening's Beat the Clock challenge. Ryusuke Taguchi lays out Xavier Woods and Samoa Joe plainly brutalizes an already injured Apollo Crews, his face set in disgust and annoyance at having such a pathetic excuse for a match at this stage in his career. The second Beat the Clock match goes faster, as Cedric Alexander defeats Mark Briscoe in 4:41, now holding the time to beat as he looks out over the crowd, absorbing it all and nodding in contentment to himself- he knew leaving Alicia Fox was the right idea, his career finally starting to pull itself into a more worthwhile shape.

Despite their best attempts to withstand her offense, to keep her down, Naomi and Becky just have little to no chance against Nia Jax in the triple threat match that Stephanie has authorized, Nia seemingly amused as she beats them down, sending them flying into each other at the vaguest attempt of offense. They try kicking her together, even try lifting her together, but there's no go. Naomi gets sent flying and Becky finds herself pinned, staring up dazedly as the bell rings and Nia gets off of her, laughing dismissively.

The third and final Beat the Clock match of the evening ends in a draw as neither Jason Jordan or Drew Galloway succeed at pinning each other before the time runs out, neither man looking overly thrilled with the decision.

Next up sees Caprice Coleman pacing around the ring, watching Randy Orton slink down the ramp. Everyone, every person in the crowd thinks this will be simple. Orton will slip in, the bell will ring, and he'll hit one RKO out of nowhere and it'll be over. Caprice grits his teeth, determined for that to _not_ happen. He fights from the instance the bell rings, landing punches and kicks, knees, anything and everything he can think of. Dodges as many of Orton's blows as he can, brushing off those that he can't. Orton's getting into position for something when Coleman shifts, lands a jumping neckbreaker and enjoys the brief interlude before going to the top rope, dragging Orton with him. The Frankensteiner that follows has the crowd gasping in awe, Orton barely twitching afterwards. Bridging it into a cobra clutch, Caprice puts as much pressure as he can and barely registers as the referee bounds around them, checking his grip, checking Orton. Checking everything... and finally he lifts Orton's hand after Orton fails to respound and it drops limply. Once more, and again, and Orton remains out. Caprice can barely believe it himself when the bell rings and he's declared the winner, Orton _just_ remaining unconscious long enough for the match to be decided.

Wisely rolling out of the ring to safety, Caprice laughs to himself, raising his arms in smug pleasure. _Hell yeah, I knew I could win._

To amuse herself, Stephanie brings back an old favorite- the gauntlet match. Her pleasure is short lived, however, as Konnor from the Ascension somehow outlasts first Bushi after reversing him into a full nelson slam and holding him down long enough for a three count, then Simon Gotch, Kalisto and finally Aron Rex, Rockstar Spud watching on in horror from the outside as Konnor punches Aron hard enough to make him flail and claw at his face, fussing over his wrecked appearance just long enough for Konnor to lock in a headscissors armbar, which leaves Aron flailing and crying out in pain before tapping desperately, Spud immediately scrambling to help him get out, get away.

Aiden English defeats Bobby Fish after a lengthy back and forth affair that only finds a conclusion after Bobby overestimates his energy reserves and leaves himself vulnerable to a swinging neckbreaker that makes his ears ring. Ignoring most of Jack Gallagher's ridiculous offense, Baron Corbin defeats him soundly with End of Days, and Rhett Titus struts out the victor against Jimmy Uso, absorbing the crowd's derision happily.

Chad Gable tries, he does, but he's still a little beat down after what the Usos had done at Elimination Chamber, and Hangman Page is determined, angry, and powerful. It's just enough to find himself losing his grip, losing a suplex attempt, and then hitting the mat with the force of a car accident before being pinned.

Ultimate X is held next, Viktor, John Cena, Tozawa, Kenny King and James Storm all eyeing the taunting red X above them. The fight is brutal, confusing. Tazawa keeps grunting and John keeps yelling at _everyone,_ and it's mess. Eventually it ends with Konnor and James Storm uptop, trying to shimmy over to grab the winning symbol... just for Konnor to land a solid boot to Storms' face, dislodging his slightly clammy grip and sending him crashing to the mat below. This allows Konnor the time to inch forward, grab the X and assure that the Ascension continue their winning ways.

After Braun Strowman makes his way to the ring, the audience turns silent very quickly when the arena falls dark and the familiar entrance of the Wyatts begins. Bray looks unconcerned as he approaches his former brother, heavyweight title resting lazily across his shoulder. Entering the ring, he blows out his lantern with a small smirk and faces the much taller man, his confidence at an all time high with the gold on his shoulder. In fact, as the bell rings, he laughs and Braun falters, his face twisting in anger before he rushes for his former leader. Bray sidesteps and Braun hits the ropes, rebounding with a growl that the entire audience can hear. Bray hits him with a solid punch that stops him short, Bray's eyebrows lifting as he chuckles anew at the look on Braun's face. "You remember me, don't you?" he snaps at him, still seemingly undisturbed by their differences in size. Braun towers over him physically, but Bray is the stronger in every way that matters, as if winning the title had finally led him to realizing his true potential. "Don't you?!"

Braun looks annoyed. Like he wants to scream back something, tear Bray apart piece by piece, but he refrains. His eyes give away just how uncomfortable he is with the entire situation, almost rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet as Bray continues to laugh, to taunt him. Finally, _finally,_ Braun moves and Bray meets him, grips the side of his head and gruffly kisses him before twisting him around and planting him into the mat in Sister Abigail, almost a merciful kind of execution as Braun lays there and listens to the three count. Bray laughs upon winning, sprawling his arms out to either side of him and staring out at the Universe. His kingdom. So many souls, looking for a new leader, for something to cling to. "I am here," he whispers to them all. "I will fill the void in you all."


	64. chapter 64

Stephanie is annoyed. Mick Foley is not working out like she'd hoped he would. It leaves her cranky and with more to do than she'd expected to have to at this stage in their working relationship. After overseeing all of Raw, doing everything that Mick is incapable of, she doesn't have much energy for the week's Team Work. She stares down at the blank booking card and list of wrestlers at the show, shaking her head in aggravation. "Dammit," she mumbles, rubbing at her eyes. "Throw something together, who cares." She throws together a bunch of multi man matches that requires very little thought.

Once the card is up, the show begins a few minutes later and she's relieved to sit back and just watch as things roll on. The first match is an Elimination Chamber, Stephanie wanting to have her own chance at using the brand new, sleek chamber. Jack Gallagher, Silas Young, Colt Cabana, and Jeff Hardy fill out the chambers while Bray Wyatt and Will Ospreay start the match off. Bray laughs, undisturbed by the other man while Will circles him, waiting for an opportunity to lung in and get some offense in, but Bray is ready and although standing loosely, he is clearly prepared before Will moves in and quickly gets grabbed around the head, Bray twisting him around and planting him with the Sister Abigail, immediately pinning him.

Bray rolls back onto his feet and walks towards the chambers, laughing at the four men trapped behind the panes of glass. When the time's finally passed, and Colt Cabana is allowed out. He looks leery after Ospreay's quick elimination, but lands a punch anyway, Bray not pausing in his laughter. Colt pales and tries again, Bray still laughing. He tries an elbow and Bray's chuckles continue, Colt's lips tightening as he tries again and again to get Bray to flinch or show some sign of pain. It's horribly abrupt, Bray suddenly going stone faced before he struck him in the throat, caught him and hits another Sister Abigail, pinning Colt as well.

Silas Young enters next and steps up to Bray, the two of them staring at each other before brawling, Bray actually not overlooking Silas' ability. Hitting the ropes, Silas rushes back at Bray just to get a clotheslined down. Bray takes his chances on the rope, flying off and landing vertically across Silas' prone body before getting to his feet and, as Silas struggles up, Bray bridges upside down and laughs at him. Once he stands up properly, he grabs Silas and lands his third elimination of the night after another Sister Abigail.

Jeff Hardy starts off running, hitting Bray with a heelkick that sends him to the mat while Bray stumbles in the other direction, the first time he's really been knocked off his balance in the entire match. Jeff grabs him and tries to land a twist of fate to finish this off before Bray could get the upperhand, just to eat an elbow to the face. He staggers and is in perfect position to be grabbed and spiked to the mat, Bray folding him up into a pin and mouthing three, devolving into another wild burst of laughter as Jeff is rolled helpfully out of the ring.

Bray walks up to the last remaining pod and stares in at Jack Gallagher, his lips parted into a demented grin. Jack stares back at him, face deceptively blank, but it doesn't disrupt Bray in the slightest. Once the time runs out, the chamber's opened and Jack rushes out, trying to get the early advantage. Headbutting him solidly, Jack lunges forward and hits an uppercut, Bray stumbling back and opening him up to a dropkick that plants Bray in the corner, dazed for the first time all night. He fights off Gallagher's attempt at pulling him out and away, gritting his teeth and punching Jack solidly in the chest, finally battering him away and leaving Bray catching his breath for a moment before grabbing Jack by the head, dragging him up. "Foolish," he tells him once they're eye to eye. Dragging him back in, he hits Jack with a close clothesline, knocking him to the mat.

Landing a running senton, Bray attempts a pin and isn't too surprised when Jack kicks out just shy of 3. Swinging Jack into a gutbuster, Bray looks out at the booing crowd, chuckling to himself before getting up to his feet, forcing Jack's slack form up and twisting him around to hit Sister Abigail, his lips twitching up in a smirk before he pins him, officially sweeping his second successful elimination chamber in a month. He laughs as the crowd boos him, heading backstage with his title belt.

The next match pits Braun Strowman against Michael Elgin, the two men brawling until Strowman gets the upperhand on Elgin, powerslamming Elgin to the mat and defeating him. Christopher Daniels walks out the victor in a six man match against Sami Zayn, Tozawa, Matt Hardy, Jason Jordan and Moose. Brandi's confusing attempt at wrestling unsettles Bayley, Brooke, and Mickie James enough that she sweeps a gauntlet match, breathless and sweaty by the time she outlasts her final opponent in Mickie.

The main event sticks the remaining men in a battle royal, Satoshi Kojima, Cesaro, Jessie Goddarz, Chad Gable and Kofi Kingston keeping an eye at each other as the bell rings to signal the beginning of the match. Cesaro is on fire early, hitting everyone with uppercuts before Gable lands a dropkick on him when he tries to come back around and hit him a second time, Kofi helping to keep Cesaro down with a heelkick that sends them both down to the mat, Jessie and Satoshi struggling to get the upperhand. Satoshi is about to get pushed over and out when Gable recovers and grabs Satoshi, landing a suplex on him, Kofi rushing in and landing a harsh kick to Jessie that sends him over and out, landing awkwardly on the apron and leaving him open to another uppercut from Cesaro, Jessie's grip failing before he's eliminated, hitting the mat hard. Kojima is out next, Chad all but suplexing him out of the ring only a few moments after Jessie's gone.

Cesaro, Gable and Kofi stare at each other suspiciously before meeting in the middle, Gable grabbing Cesaro and trying to suplex him just for Kofi to land a solid kick to the side of his head, Cesaro and Gable tumbling away and struggling to regain their composures while Kofi prepares to hit a Trouble on Paradice on the first guy who gets up. Cesaro is the 'lucky' one, meeting him with a solid punch to the face, Kofi gaping at him before hitting the mat. Gable sends Cesaro into the mat with a headscissors takedown before rushing at Kofi, Kofi gripping him and twisting him around into an SOS. Cesaro tries to go after them again but Kofi tosses him out of the ring, landing a solid kick to the side of his head, Chad dropkicking him and making him lose his grip on the ropes.

Once he's gone, they stare at each other and Chad smirks, running his hands through his hair and slicking it out of his face. "So."

Kofi scoffs. "So." They stare at each other before lunging at each other, brawling and doing everything they can to get the other towards the ropes, Chad almost resting his back against hte ropes before he lifts his arm and lands a solid strike to Kofi's sternum, staggering him back. Kofi sees Chad running towards him, forcing himself up into something of a crouch and catching Chad in the chest with his shoulder, sending him up and over before twisting around and landing a solid hit to Chad's face with his boot, knocking him off of the apron. He hits the floor hard and gapes up, Kofi dancing around the ring happily as the crowd reacts mostly positively.


	65. chapter 65

Stephanie pinches her nose. Tries to breathe as she stares at the calendar. Wrestlemania is so very close, and nothing's going exactly right. Mick Foley continues to underperform, HHH is being very smug about this Seth Rollins injury drama, and now... now she's got Kevin Owens complaining about Bill Goldberg and Chris Jericho on the injured list, and. She sighs, stroking the Team Work logo on the sheet of paper before her. "The only place where I can find some peace," she mumbles, scribbling the last line of the card before authorizing for it to be hung up outside so the show can begin.

The first match is an elimination tag match, Big Cass staring down at Hangman Page, unimpressed with him as he walks down to the ring. Their opponents are Kevin Owens and Jessie Godderz, Owens lifting his title belt and sneering at the other three men as the bell rings to start the match. Jesse doesn't like him from the start, he and Owens arguing back and forth before Jessie begins the match, Owens heading to safety behind the ropes. Cass begins and Jesse tries to overpower him, but Cass slams him down to the mat and kicks him when he staggers up, still trying to fight. Overwhelmed again, he glances over and spots Owens laughing at him, his teeth gritting before diving to the corner and tagging Owens in while he's distracted.

Owens stops laughing as soon as he realizes what's happened, his teeth gnashing together while he angrily gets into the ring, yelling senselessly at Jesse as he rolls out of the ring. Turning, Owens is met by a boot straight to the face and Cass runs against the ropes, rebounding to land another boot... just to feel a sharp tag against his shoulder, Page getting into the ring while Owens is down. It's Cass' turn to be angry but he can't do anything about it but watch as Page grabs at Owens, planning on some sort of offense... just to get rolled up in a haphazard pin, Page eliminated and leaving Cass in a 2 on 1 situation.

He buries his face in his hands for a moment before getting into the ring, glaring at Owens. Kevin smirks at him before walking over to the ropes and harshly tagging Jessie in, sneering as he ducks behind the ropes and waves at Jessie to start the match. Cass catches him, slinging him around and slamming him to the mat the instance Jessie turns around, ending it quickly after an Empire Elbow that leaves Jessie motionless and unable to kick out at the pin. Owens groans before getting into the ring, staring across at Cass with frustration bleeding out from his very pores.

The thoughts of getting an opportunity to fight in any federation for another title almost sways him to see this through but he has Goldberg to focus on, he has the belt around his shoulder to focus on so, as soon as Cass lunges at him, Owens rolls out. Paces around the ring, watching the referee who gives up on yelling at him to return to the ring and begins the ten count. Cass is yelling gibberish too but Owens ignores him, heading up the ramp with a smug kind of air about him. He might lose the match, but he's still Universe Champion, and that's the important thing.

The bell rings and Cass takes the win with a shrug, lifting his arm in success before turning to watch Owens leave, shaking his head in disbelief.

Next up is a triple threat match pitting Sasha Banks, Natalya and Alexa Bliss against each other. Natalya stands back and watches while Sasha and Alexa brawl, age old issues coming to the surface. She waits for her opportunity and simply tosses Sasha out of the ring, her former injuries slowing her down just enough for Natalya to lock Alexa up in the sharpshooter in the middle of the ring and wrenching back until she taps out.

Mark Briscoe walks out the victor against Josh Barnett, his redneck kung fu confusing the MMA fighter enough for him to get the upperhand and keep it.

Enzo Amore recites his entrance, smirking as the crowd chants with him. Rolling into the ring, he finishes off, the entire thing feeling a little blank without Cass by his side. He squares his shoulders as Trevor Lee comes out, Shane Helms accompanying him. Enzo's main goal is to keep Trevor on the mat, aware that, despite his appearance, he's actually too good with highflying moves. He greets him with a punch as soon as the bell rings, Trevor rocking back with the force of the second and third ones.

As soon as Trevor rushes at him, Enzo meets him with a dropkick, knocking him down. It doesn't last for long, however, and as soon as Enzo rushes to grab him, Trevor's recovered enough to get an arm around his neck, choking him as he gets to his feet. Trevor attempts a fisherman buster but Enzo wiggles loose enough to reverse it into a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown, trying to go up to dive onto him... just for Shane Helms to grab at him. Enzo grits his teeth and kicks him off, just to hear the crowd cheer as Cass runs down and chases Helms away, allowing Enzo to land his splash and pin Trevor successfully.

New Japan has a streak of good luck as Kushida defeats Marty Scurll and Shibata walks out the winner against Kofi Kingston, ROH's prospect, John Skyler, following all of this up with a hardfought victory against Chad Gable.

Big E faces off with Adam Cole and the two of them brawl back and forth for awhile before Big E overpowers him long enough to lift Cole up and slam him down, going up to splash down on him. It's all downhill from there as Cole staggers to his feet and immediately walks into a belly to belly suplex, Big E immediately following it up with the Big Ending. The pin is all but a foregone conclusion by then, Big E laughing as soon as the bell rings and he's won his first point for this cycle.

The final match of the night is a handcap match, pitting Jason Jordan and Jay Briscoe against Braun Strowman. Half of WWE's tag champs and half of ROH's leading team eye each other suspiciously as Braun walks down to the ring slowly. It's not an easy match, the two men getting mauled early by the much larger man, but Jay is rough and Jason stubborn and when they work together well enough to get him off of his feet after a few minutes, the audience reacts in awe, but it doesn't last. Braun rebounds and throws both men back, Jay hitting the apron hard and rolling out. Jason struggles up to his feet and breathes out a groan, frowning up at the other man. Braun grabs him around the throat and tries to chokeslam him just for Jason to squirm free, grab Braun and twist him into a double underhook DDT, the angle awkward but somehow working as Braun staggers.

Jay returns at some point and between the two of them, they suplex Braun backwards and Jason exchanges a glance with him before going for the pin, Jay lunging for Braun's feet and holding him down so that he can't kick out as easily. Somehow, this works and the win is given to their team, Jason quickly rolling off and out as Braun scrambles up with an angry roar, Jay escaping as well. The two men regroup on the outside, quickly moving back when it looks like Braun might give chase. Quickly nodding at each other in respect, they go their separate ways, eager to escape the ensuing rampage.


	66. chapter 66

Stephanie, just barely getting off of the plane in time for Team Work, grits her teeth against every dumb mistake Mick Foley had made just in the last couple of hours, eager to take out her frustrations on tonight's roster for her baby. She grits her teeth when another key on her laptop threatens to pop off with the force of her rapid keystrokes.

Finally done, she tacks the card up onto the wall herself, watching with grim satisfaction as Big Cass boots TK O'Ryan down in almost record time to start the night off. TJ Perkins continues Raw's winning ways by taking out Trevor Lee, confounded for a few moments by the man's lumbering walk in his ridiculously short trunks, before catching him with a Detonation Kick, bridging it into his TJP Clutch, pressing back and tearing at Trevor's leg until he has no chance but to tap out.

Stephanie wanders the hall, her mood brightening with each success on Raw's side, when she spots someone who looks somewhat familiar. She walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder. "Hey, didn't you used to have a last name?" He looks bewildered, then angered, and she laughs in his face before turning and returning to her office to watch as Cody brawls with Dolph Ziggler, his anger and frustration leading to a loss when Ziggler sneaks past his wavering defense and lands a superkick that almost sends Cody out of his own boots.

Goldberg takes out Jack Gallagher and Matt Jackson in ridiculously fast fashion next and Stephanie's smirk only grows as she peers at her new champion. Her glee fades when Raw's luck turns, for however briefly, and James Storm defeats Cesaro and Samoa Joe in a triple threat, pinning Cesaro after he'd knocked Joe loopy for a moment with a solid set of forearms. Next is a six man, pitting Matt Taven against Sheamus, AJ Styles, Big E, Nick Jackson, and Vinnie Marseglia. Her frustration mounts when everyone else is thrown out of the ring during the course of the match, leaving Vinnie and Sheamus in. She thinks Sheamus has it- he's going for the Brogue Kick and everything, but then Marseglia recovers someway, somehow, locks in a head scissor Russian leg sweep and, before anyone else could intervene, Sheamus is grudgingly tapping, giving yet another point to one of The Kingdom members.

Next is a battle royal that ROH's newest prospect, Brian Milonas, walks out the victor of due to everyone all but ignoring the unknown element until it's too late and he shocks the world by eliminating Luke Gallows once the other competitors- Roman Reigns, Xavier Woods, Rich Swann, Karl Anderson, Tozawa and Adam Cole- have all been picked off one by one

Lashley takes out Neville in a relatively quick time, considering just how hard Neville had fought to overwhelm Lashley's strength- which had been his downfall as one wrong move on the turnbuckle had led to him getting snagged out of thin air and slammed back down, writhing around in pain before being pinned unceremoneously. Likewise, Big Show defeats Moose with two solid punches that is more of a statement than an actual "I will hurt you, boy" hit.

Stephanie's eyes gleam as the infamous Elimination Chamber match music begins to play, the ridiculous structure being put in place... before Nia Jax's music plays. The crowd begins to buzz as they realize, upon TNA's Rosemary music to hit, that this is a _female's_ Elimination Chamber match. Sasha Banks and Becky finish rounding out the pods, while Charlotte and Bayley begin, Charlotte all but laughing in disdain as Bayley tries to start the match off strong just to get knocked aside. They exchange blows, Bayley rocked early from an elbow, just to repay in kind with a knee to Charlotte's side. Two minutes pass in the blink of an eye and Sasha is in, helping Bayley with Charlotte... just for their fun to end when Rosemary enters. She grabs Sasha, she twists her around and DDTs her into the mat before hissing over her, moving aside and laughing when Bayley splashes on top of Sasha, her attempt to help getting Rosemary away not paying off. It happens quickly from there, one minute Bayley is trying to help Sasha and the next she's getting planted into the mat and pinned after a Natural Selection.

Charlotte doesn't last, however, as Becky is in next and quickly double teams her with Sasha, the two of them working together to inflict as much damage as possible, finally Sasha submitting her after a Banks Statement, Charlotte spitting with anger as she rolls out of the chamber. Rosemary goes next as Nia is freed barely seconds later, grabbing her and slamming her down, pinning her as if she was nothing... as if to look up and say "This is how you do it, take notes". Which none of them do, no matter how impressive it is, really.

Nia targets Sasha and throws Becky away when she tries to help before slamming Sasha down, all of her weight coming upon the smaller girl, before doing the same to Becky and pinning htem together. Nia smirks as she stares up into the lights lighting up the Wrestlemania sign, imagining her first Wrestlemania as she rolls out of the ring. "Very soon," she reminds herself with a dangerous glint in her eye.


	67. chapter 67

Steph walks into the arena that night, smug. She's finally rid of Mick Foley, able to do what she wants with Raw. Considering that Wrestlemania is only a matter of weeks away, this is nice. Life-affirming, almost. And now she gets to book Team Work and see the fruits of her labor there too. She chuckles and gets to work, a new energy fueling her actions.

The first match of the night sees Curt Stallion, a new competitor in ROH, take on and defeat Big E, using his outlandish ...movements in the ring to hoist him up to perform an air raid crash over his knee, pinning him. John Cena defeats Jay Lethal, dodging his Lethal Injection before hitting an attitude adjustment that leaves him out for the count. Kevin Owens defeats BJ Whitmer, unimpressed by his various attempts at offense before scooping him up and hitting a bonerattling Pop Up Powerbomb, keeping him down for the three count easily.

One of TNA's recent hires, Adam Thornstrowe, finds himself facing off with _Broken_ Matt Hardy, swallowing hard as rambling madness pours from the other man's mouth while he laughs at him. Thrown, Adam rushes forward just to find himself down on the mat after a twist of fate, the three count already getting put against him. Jay White handles Braxton Sutter about as easily, the man unable to get his feet under him properly against the much better trained competitor and eating a loss after only a few minutes.

The next match pits Neville against Vinnie Marseglia, the King of the Cruiserweights sneering at the member of The Kingdom. Vinnie fights brutally, but Neville's speed and wickedness leaves him floundering, his desperation showing when Neville begins to work his arm over, preparing him for his submission... which he successfully locks in a few minutes later, after a failed attempt at a head scissor Russian leg sweep. Vinnie writhes, flails all over, but Neville's core strength holds him back, presses in again and again until finally Vinnie has no choice but to tap or risk leaving Matt Taven without a tag partner of any sort since TK O'Ryan's injury.

This also is fresh on Matt Taven's mind as he faces off with Naomichi Marufuji, but he has nothing to worry about. The man is tough, yes, and Matt comes close to losing a million times, it feels like, but he holds on, fueled by the thoughts of the look on TK's face after his injury, after what he was told tonight by one Stephanie McMahon. Because of that, Matt holds on, even eaks out a victory after planting Marufuji face first into the mat. He's in awe that he managed it, that it's over, but he still has something important to do tonight so he only allows a bit of ego stroking by having the referee lift his arm before he's out and running backstage to prepare, desperate.

Goto makes quick work of Alberto El Patron, his hardhitting, no-nonsense style just a little too much for the other man's technical style depending on submission holds and the like. Jay Briscoe ends Kofi Kingston's hopes almost as quickly, and then the Kingdom makes a reappearance, TK O'Ryan hobbling between them on crutches.

Vinnie looks a little bruised and angry, but Matt seems determined, solemn as he follows his friend to the ring. Working together, Vinnie and Matt get him into the ring before taking their places on opposite sides, watching closely as Luster the Legend makes his entrance. Another of TNA's recent hires, he looks far from worried as he sneers across at TK. But broken leg or no, TK's been at this game for too long to be intimidated by some nobody, so he stands his ground, even gets in a few hits while Luster taunts him. He runs the ropes just to find himself tripped and held onto by Matt Taven, realizing finally why the match had been announced as a No DQ match. The fix is in, he knows it, and no matter what he does, Taven or Marseglia work together to keep TK from taking any serious offense, until finally they have Luster writhing on the mat, frustrated. That's all it takes, TK hobbles over and pins him with a foot against his chest, the referee counting while Matt and Vinnie each hold a leg down from outside of the ring, effectively pinning him and giving the win to TK. Once Luster rolls out, angry, Matt and Vinnie rush in and hug TK, celebrating carefully with him before helping him out of the ring, this being his last appearance in a ring until he's fully recovered.

Sienna defeats Mickie James, and Nick Jackson holds his own against Tozawa, clinging desperately to awareness against the onslaught of damage until he lands a superkick, twice in a row, and rolls him up, pinning him. Punisher Martinez walks out the victor in an Ultimate X match, sneering back at a struggling Jeff Hardy, Bully Ray, Randy Orton, Christopher Daniels and Dalton Castle, the much regarded X held snugly in his hands. After Sasha is taken out and Nikki successfully pins Alexa in a triple threat match, the main event of the night begins.

A tag team elimination match pitting Marty Scurll and Kazarian against Matt Jackson and Mark Briscoe. Marty and Kazarian find it hard to work together, considering Kaz is the #1 contender to Scurll's title, but they try not to let it bleed over to this. Which doesn't work when Scurll is accidentally sent into Kaz, knocking him off of the apron and leaving Marty vulnerable to Mark's brand of redneck kungfu, hitting him repeatedly until he's staggered, a particularly rough palm strike to his throat leaving him collapsed against the mat, struggling to breathe. Froggy Bow ends it, Kazarian watching from the floor in disbelief at being left to fend for himself this early in the match. Gritting his teeth, he rolls into the ring and faces off with a smug Matt Jackson, listening to his insults and little digs about pretending to be loyal to Bullet Club just to show his true alliance to his brother.

Kaz shrugs, undisturbed, before meeting him with a rough strike to the face when Matt rushes at him, trying to get the first offense in. Staggered, this leaves him wide open for a follow up flurry, Kaz taking advantage of the moment to kick him solidly in the face, sending him down to one knee before forcing him back up and over in a belly to belly suplex, bridging up into a pin that Matt only just kicks out as Mark rushes in to break it up. They all regroup, return to their corners, Mark tagging in. Kaz seems even less concerned by this, exchanging blows and expertly dodging more of his redneck kungfu before hitting Mark with a knee strike that sends him flailing back against the turnbuckle, Matt quickly getting back into the ring when it seems clear that they're hovering on the precipice of a loss. It doesn't help though, as Kazarian greets him with a neckbreaker followed by a DDT. He laughs breathlessly, scooping a dazed Matt up and hooking his legs into a belly to back piledriver, feeling the satisfying impact as he drops, leaning back to pin Matt successfully.

Mark seems far from pleased as he gets into the ring, eyeing Kazarian warily. They circle each other for a few moments before Mark rushes forward, just to receive a knee to the face. He staggers, gripping his nose, before hitting a solid strike to Kaz's throat, sending him back a few steps as well. They stare at each other, gritting their teeth and struggling to focus... The crowd reacts in awe when both men try to land similiar kicks at the same time, knocking each other to the mat at the same time. Slowly staggering upwards, they stare at each other with some sort of respect, Kaz smirking as he nods at his opponent. But it's time to get serious and neither man slow down from there, moving so fast that the crowd holds their breath, waiting for something serious to hit, a pin attempt to turn into a true three count. It all falls apart for Mark when he tries and fails at a ura-nage, Frankie reversing into an electric chair suplex and swooping into a pin, tangling Mark up successfully so much so that he can't blink, much less kick out.

Once done, Kaz rolls to his feet and turns in a circle, taking in the respect and joy from the crowd, glad that he'd won again this week. When the referee lifts his hand in victory, he grins, truly happy as well for all that he and Daniels had succeeded at the last few days.


	68. chapter 68

It's a relief, to have Mick Foley officially gone. Having said the two magic words, well... Stephanie had felt that old surge of contentment and strength, her lips parting into a pleased sneer as she turns her attention to the week's episode of Team Work. She expects a quiet enough night with most of the wrestlers focusing on what's to come, with Wrestlemania around the corner and their last real opportunity at making waves in this cycle staring them in the face.

The night starts off with Brian Kendrick facing off against Beer City Bruiser, his speed advantage neutralized whenever Bruiser gets a hand on him, throwing him around the ring with something as simple as a shoulder check. However, it just means that Bruiser gets breathless and unable to capitalize in due time, allowing Brian to lock in a reverse chinlock, forcing back until Bruiser taps, bearly able to breathe to the point that he's losing consciousness.

Mismatches in size continue as Tanahashi wrestles Big Show, using all of his skill and experience to avoid his KO Punch, and hit enough offense to eventually get Big Show down long enough for a highfly flow, successfully pinning him to the crowd's shock. Becky defeats Sasha and Mickie in a triple threat match after trapping Mickie in a disarmer, further weakening her arm from past matches they've had and making her tap.

Following this is an elimination tag team match, pitting Garza Jr and Roman Reigns against Kenny King and Yoshitatsu. Yoshi seems unimpressed with having to partner up with Kenny, so it's not much of a hazard for him to watch as Roman easily takes out Kenny with a superman punch, pinning him within moments of the bell ringing. Garza watches aimlessly as Yoshi and Roman start to compete, just for Kenny to return after a few minutes when the referee is distracted by Garza and Yoshi battling back and forth in the ring, both ignoring his requests for a clean break. He lands a solid hit against Roman's back with a set of brass knucks before laughing and running back up the ramp, sneering as Roman struggles to recover.

He's in so much pain that he doesn't notice when Garza tags in, immediately vulnerable to Yoshi, who kicks Roman solidly in the side, the pain radiating as Yoshi follows it up with more punches, more kicks, leaving Roman without a second to breathe. He tangles himself around the larger man, using an octopus stretch type move to underline every ache and pain he's already been feeling, leaving him staggering. Yoshi eventually lets it go before Roman hits the mat and runs right for the ropes, landing a flying spinning heel kick and downing Roman just enough to pin him to a three. Garza Jr. enters the ring to face off with Yoshi but he's still worn out from earlier and Yoshi is riding high from defeating one of WWE's tougher competitors, so he finds the way to victory against Garza very quickly, hip tossing him onto Yoshi's knee and pinning him quickly.

ROH's prospect, Josh Woods, eaks out a victory against Nagata, Silas somehow survives a handicap match against Jey Uso and Honma. Trevor Lee belittles Aries about being part of the better division for highflyers after defeating him, holding his X-Division title high above his head, laughing as Aries glowers wearily up at him. Jimmy Uso defeats Ishii and Jay Briscoe ruins Laredo King from start to finish, seeming to enjoy every moment of beating this kid down until the referee threatens to end it, leaving Jay with just enough time to cover the man and get the required three count. Outside of a few kicks, the referes are able to regain control and make Jimmy leave before he makes things worse.

The main event sees Alberto El Patron against Tony Nese, and Alberto couldn't seem less interested if he tried. Nese watches as he ignores him, stretching in the corner and shaking his wrists out before heaving a sigh and storming over to Nese as soon as the bell rings, ready to grab him and wrap this match up early. Not that Nese will allow that, however, meeting him halfway with a hit that actually rocks Alberto, leaves him gaping in shock. Teeth gritting and eyes narrowing, he does land a responding shot against Nese, before the two fall into a brawl. Considering he'd been locked in the cruiserweight division for ages, Nese is clearly enjoying fighting someone larger, even forcing Alberto away into the corner a few times. It only serves to anger the Mexican, however, and he snarls at Nese before landing a desperate enziguiri on the approaching man once more. Nese staggers, grips his face, and leaves himself vulnerable to Alberto, who quickly targets his arm, wrenching it against the turnbuckle and slams it down, whipping it in a way that leaves Nese yelling out in pain and grabbing at his abused muscle.

Not enough for Alberto, however, who maintains his hold on the man's arm and continues slamming it again and again and again against the unforgiving rope, barely responsive to the ref until he hits a 4 count, running the risk of losing the match by DQ. Only then does he release Nese and attempt to tangle him up in the armbar... just for Nese to brace himself on one leg and sweep out with the other, knocking Alberto's feet out of from under him just in the nick of time. Spared from the harsh submission hold that defeated Ethan Carter III, Tony grabs a confused, startled Alberto and deadlifts him up, powerbombing him into the corner before following it up with a bonerattling kneestrike to the corner, leaving Alberto limp and motionless in the corner. This allows Nese to grab him, drag him back into the middle of the ring, and apply a one-legged Boston crab, putting as much force on Alberto's lower back as he possibly can, wrenching back until Alberto... taps, the crowd unsure how to react before finally giving in and cheering the sudden success of Tony Nese as he stands up and lifts his arms in victory.

It had all happened so fast, Alberto clearly doesn't know how to respond to the man's impressive power and ability, giving up and getting out of the ring, holding his back as he stumbles away. Nese's smirk grows as he watches him go, relieved that he's finally on the board for the contest.


	69. chapter 69

It feels good to be in complete control of Raw. Not having to run things by Mick Foley, getting to do whatever she wants with _her_ show, the way it always should be. Stephanie smirks and taps her nails against the table as she signs off on the card for the night, somewhat relieved that it's a limited roster tonight. Wrestlemania is so close, she can almost taste it.

Starting the night off is a tag match pitting Adam Thornstowe and Randy Orton vs Ishii and Christopher Daniels. Orton all but ignores his partner, staring Ishii down before they meet in the middle of the ring, immediately brawling for control. Ishii takes over, hitting Orton with a deep forearm that staggers him. Thornstowe is watching closely and, after Ishii sends Randy back into the opposing corner, he tags in and runs forward just to get scooped up and slammed down to the mat. Writhing away, he struggles to get over to his corner but Orton drops down, declining the pin. Ishii all but destroys the younger man once he's back on his feet, landing kicks and punches that leave Adam on the mat, Ishii hitting the ropes... just for Daniels to tag himself in. He smirks at his partner before grabbing Thornstowe and planting him with the Angel Wings, pinning him. Ishii looks like he's tempted to do something but ultimately lets it go, so late in the cycle that one point won't change his rankings that drastically.

The next match sees Jeff Hardy defeating Jimmy Uso with the twist of fate after a failed attempt at a splash off of the top by half of the Smackdown tag team champions. Luster the Legend takes out Dalton Castle in the following match, the Boys gaping from the outside after slipping out of a Bangarang and punching him harshly in the chest before hooking him up and landing a double chicken wing on him, suplexing him down and pinning him.

The next match is an Elimination Chamber match that starts with Cesaro and Samoa Joe, Kazarian, Laredo Kid, Sanada and Garza Jr in the pods. As time ticks away, Cesaro and Joe exchange blows and strong body shots, Joe hitting a heel hook at some point that staggers Cesaro ... just for him to rebound and hit a brutal uppercut that sends Joe into the chains, trapping him in its links. They stare at each other before Cesaro grabs him and slings him into the middle of the ring, trying to tangle him up into a sharpshooter. Joe grits his teeth, scrambling against the pain, and Cesaro pulls back, putting as much pressure as he can on Joe's lower body. There's about thirty seconds left when Joe breaks free, stumbles up and... gets met with another uppercut, just for the time to run out and Sanada comes out. A dropkick later and Joe falls, Cesaro lifting him up for a limited Swing. Cesaro collapses after a few rotations and Sanada takes the opportunity, pinning him.

Cesaro is still struggling after swinging Joe, leaving him vulnerable to Sanada's bridging suplex. He kicks out just to get tangled up in a Dragon Sleeper with bodyscissors, Sanada lifting up to add more pressure to Cesaro, all of the damage he'd taken against Joe and now Sanada leaving him unable to move, unable to do anything to break free. His pure determination to win keeps him from tapping out, too, though, and before too long, he passes out in the hold and the ref calls it. Kaz enters next and Sanada and he exchange blows back and forth, neither able to hit anything too challenging, before time passes again and Laredo Kid enters. They work together, eliminating him between a dropkick and a Slingshot leg drop. Sanada goes next when Kazarian swats away another dropkick attempt of his and lands a brutal back to belly piledriver, spiking him just enough to leave him motionless and unable to free himself before the three count.

Garza Jr. is the last to enter and he's barely made it out of the pod before Kaz has him, landing a solid cutter that leaves him vulnerable and unable to stand in the middle of the ring. Kaz sticks a springboard elbow before pinning him, his teeth gleaming in the light overhead as the bell rings and he's declared the winner.

Brian Kendrick wins a triple threat against Lashley and Santana after dodging Lashley's attempt at attacking him by grabbing the top rope and sending him up and over, allowing him to focus on Santana while Lashley recovers, landing a moonsault and segueing into his reverse bridging chinlock, wrenching him back until he finally gives in and taps just before Lashley rolls back in to beat this up. LAX's bad luck continues when Austin Aries handles Ortiz about as quickly, and Shera defeats Goto, dancing out of the ring to the crowd's bemusement. Despite her best attempts, Charlotte loses to ODB, almost desperate to _not_ touch her opponent too much, especially once the flask comes out and booze starts pouring freely.

The main event is a four man elimination match, pitting Jey Uso, John Cena, Matt Hardy and Davey Richards against each other. Jey and Matt go right for each other, while Davey and Cena grapple. The four of them fight back and forth for awhile until Cena plants his legs and sends Davey quickly out of the ring. Matt and Jey are still fighting when Cena grabs Matt, dragging him over to the ropes to do the "You can't see me" taunt, about to send him up, over, and out... when Jey dropkicks both of them. Matt falls first, but drags Cene with him, the two of them balancing precariously on the apron.

"Soon, our time will come," he tells Jey, eyes dark and fixed. "But tonight is not about that, twin champion #1." He's just finished saying so when Jey begins punching and biting his fingers, finally Matt giving up and dropping back onto the mat outside, dragging Cena with him.

Jey isn't sure what to think, what had led to him getting this win in such a way.


	70. chapter 70

Stephanie is injured. This leaves Team Work floundering without a leader and so, of course, Vince steps in. Saves the day like he had on Raw, and will do any time his baby girl needs him. Looks over the available men and sets the card for the evening, choosing to sit down and watch the fruits of his labor while making phone calls to determine the future of the brand.

The first match is an Elimination Chamber, pitting Joshua Woods, Rhyno, Bully Ray, Matt Jackson, Kenny Omega and Beer City Bruiser against each other. Bully Ray and Beer City Bruiser begin the contest off and it doesn't take too long before Bruiser's size works against him and Bully succeeds at eliminating him after sending him face first into the miles of chain and hard steel surrounding them, then drop-toeholding him into the plexiglass, cracking it with the force of his weight. Rhyno is first out of a pod and holds his own for awhile until Bully avoids his gore and Rhyno sends himself into the same pod that Bruiser had cracked, completely shattering it and leaving Rhyno completely defenseless as Bully slams him backwards and pins him.

Josh Woods lasts all of a minute before Bully dispatches him as easily as he'd done the previous two, repeating the actions for Matt Jackson when he enters the ring. Kenny Omega at least gets a little offense in, rocking Bully backwards with a wild kick, but then he's eliminated eventually after Bully slams him down onto his tailbone and then dives on him from the top rope, sweeping the entire match to the crowd's awe.

The next match pits Randy Orton vs Andrew Everett and they pace slowly, trying to feel each other out. Andrew has a number of kicks at his arsenal, not to mention his highflying ability, but Orton is cunning, sharp. He gets knocked back by a pele kick but when Andrew tries for another, scoops him out of midair and slams him down hard enough to send Everett writhing away, gripping at his back. He tries to recover while Orton is skulking around, watching him, but there's very little he can do to change his fate: when he goes up to the top rope and tries to land a moonsault, Orton snags him out of midair and hits a solid RKO, wrapping the match up as quickly as he possibly could.

EVIL walks out victorious in a triple threat match against Chris Sabin and Santana, and then the first Beat the Clock match of the night is announced, pitting AJ Styles against Will Ospreay. It's a rough, rapid match, both men desperate to win as quickly as possible, AJ's fluidity working against Ospreay as he flies from the top rope and lands an incredible, bone rattling Phenomenal Forearm, leaving Ospreay motionless throughout the pin that follows, allowing AJ to defeat him in 3:19. TNA's KM defeats Raymond Rowe after this, and the next match pits Jay Lethal and Christopher Daniels against Roman Reigns in a handicap match. All three hot in different aspects of their careers at the moment, it's hard to tell who has the advantage. Jay and Daniels have experience while Roman has strength on his side, and it shows as the match progresses, his punches seemingly doing more to them than their attempts do to him. But it all comes to a head quickly when Reigns has Daniels in line for a spear, and Daniels dives away right in the nick of time, Roman's head impacting with the turnbuckle pad and staggering him just enough for Lethal to catch him in Lethal Injection, pinning him immediately.

Jason Jordan is victorious against Marty Scurll after an intense back and forth exchange of moves that leaves the crowd on the edge of their seats until the final suplex cinches it for the former tag champion. Alexa, using her size and speed to her advantage, walks out the victor in an Ultimate X match, laughing at the distraught looks on the faces of Carmella, Sasha, Naomi, Nikki and Bayley. "I am the best woman's athlete in this business!" she declares haughtily, smirking at them.

John Cena is victorious against Alex Shelley after hitting him with a decisive Attitude Adjustment. Mark Briscoe and Matt Hardy fight in the second Beat the Clock challenge of the night, but are unable to beat AJ's time, both forced to stop brawling once the clock hits its limit, staring at each other in frustration at having to stop when things were getting interesting. After getting battered by Punishment Martinez, Jeff Hardy regroups and hits a Swanton Bomb to walk out the victor, and TNA's Ortiz takes out Sami in almost record time.

The next match is an elimination tag match, putting Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt against Jay Briscoe and Volador Jr. Bray laughs as Paul Heyman's hissing voice echoes over him, instructions and suggestions to Brock that are unneccessary to the eater of worlds. Bray kicks it off with Jay, the two of them circling each other for a minute before meeting up in the middle of the ring. It doesn't last long, truly. Jay is easy to warp into what Bray requires of him, the power of Sister Abigail still thrumming through his veins. Susceptible to Bray's powers, Jay quickly finds himself staring into the abyss, a hell of his own making, as bugs and other disgusting things crawl all over him, leaving him scrabbling, crying out and swatting at... thin air. The crowd, Lesnar, no one can see it except for himself... and Bray. Bray who laughs and laughs, the absolute sign of a madman before he snags Jay and holds him tenderly, giving him a quick kiss before swinging him down to impact with the mat, pinning him smugly.

Volador Jr, however, has no such weaknesses. Bray cannot worm into his mind as easily as the Briscoe before him. And his attempts at fighting the man isn't working either- Volador reverses, lands his own offense, leaves Bray motionless on the mat with a front flip piledriver before pinning him, defeating him almost sooner than Bray had pinned Jay. Brock scoffs, laughing under his breath as he slips into the ring, unconcerned by this unknown. It's clear Volador knows him, enough to be weary, but he doesn't let that stop him, lunging after Brock just to get caught, draped over his shoulder and slung down for an F5 which ends it. As quickly as Volador's opportunity had shown itself, it had disappeared along with his chance in this match. Brock Lesnar is the winner.

After a technical showcase that leaves the crowd on their feet, cheering and booing every pit of offense, Bobby Fish and Chad Gable leave another Beat the Clock match at a tie, both moving as fast as possible but unable to beat 3:19.

The next match pits Heath Slater vs Kevin Owens and the crowd deflates a bit, not expecting much... but Heath holds his own, relying on his golden gloves background, and rocks Owens with a few solid strikes to the jaw before Owens can even get any offense in of his own. The crowd beginning to cheer him on upholds Heath's confidence and he eventually grips Owens for the spike DDT, planting him briskly and sweeping over into a cover... which he isn't too surprised when Owens kicks out, but still. Owens meets him with a kick that sends him almost inside out as he flops to the mat and then Owens hoists him up, slapping and yelling at him in the most disrespectful way possible. Heath's chances are slipping away from him when the crowd starts to whisper and the weight on his chest disappears, Owens distracted by something... it takes a minute for the buzzing to subside long enough for Heath to realize that Jericho's music is playing. He swallows hard and sits up slowly, watching as no one appears. Owens remains yelling at thin air, waiting for an attack, something, anything, but nothing happens. Heath gasps for air, grips Owens by the back of his shorts, and then schoolboys him up, holding on with everything in him and using his height as leverage to keep Owens pinned till the referee counts the three. Heath laughs but quickly makes a run for it as Owens screams in anger, pounding the mat and kicking the ropes as Heath staggers to safety, Rhyno waiting for him at the top of the ramp to help him out, away from Owens' anger.

Next, Moose overwhelms Mojo, barely flinching at his hyped offense, before defeating him soundly. The next match sees Dean Ambrose in a gauntlet match and he defeats first Silas Young, and the Neville after pushing him off and sending him into the ropes before he can attempt to send Dean down for the Rings of Saturn, hitting Dirty Deeds and pinning him. His third and final opponent is Austin Aries and they eye each other while they wait for the bell to ring so they can begin. Austin is methodical against Dean's chaotic style, and they compliment each other well, going blow for blow until Aries lands a strike so deep that Dean hits the ropes and forgets to try his rebound lariat, just gaping at the other man until Aries grabs him and slings him back into the middle of the ring, greeting him with his Discus Fivearm. Dean is dazed and vulnerable, unable to do anything as he gets caught in the Last Chancery, which leaves him no choice but to tap as he struggles and fails to free himself from the brutal, oxygen ridding submission hold.

The main event pits Seth Rollins against Nick Jackson in the last Beat the Clock challenge match of the night and they throw everything at each other imaginable- superkick attempts, DDTs from Nick and buckle bombs from Seth, easing into a sequence of failed kicks and rolled through slams and suplexes that looks more like a dance than an actual wrestling match, they work so fluidly together as if they've been doing this kind of thing their entire lives. The clock is ticking down, however, and it's clear Seth is getting frustrated, growing more and more vocal the longer this all drags out. Nick reverses his attempt at a sling blade into a piledriver, but Seth recovers quickly and meets Nick halfway with a flying knee, causing him to grit his teeth against the pain shooting up his still healing joint. One more glance at the clock and he pales drastically, seeing the last few seconds tick away quickly, and dives for the ropes, trying to get the momentum up to hit a curb stomp. The move he stopped using when the Authority advised against it, but they're not here now, they have no say over him, but before he can even fully accomplish impact against Nick, the bell rings. Ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest, Seth looks up to find that time had run out. Disappointment bitter on his tongue, he sinks to the mat and stares.

He's still sitting there when Vince McMahon's music hits and he struts down the ramp, stopping halfway down. "Well, the evening is almost over, but I have a few quick announcements to make," he says. "Seeing that my daughter is on the injured list for awhile..." He glares at Seth, as if it was his fault directly that HHH had bumped into her and she'd gone flying into the waiting weapon below. "This place needs someone to watch over it. And since that clearly won't be me..." My son Shane will be taking over come next week!" Vince nods, pleased with the cheers his boy still gets from this crowd, then changes gears. "One last thing about this cycle of this show. Bray Wyatt is the official winner of this cycle and can have a championship match from whichever company of his choosing from now on."

Pleased with himself, Vince turns sharply and makes his way back up the ramp, unaware of how the others are processing what all he's just announced. "You've still got it, old man," he tells himself with a simple smirk as he walks towards where his car is parked.


	71. chapter 71

It's ... interesting, being in the halls that his sister had created. This show is Stephanie's, Shane thinks. From its inception to here, tonight. Starting the fourth cycle of it. He ghosts the show's logo on the wall, a small smile crossing his face. "I'll do you justice. I promise."

The night starts off with a Beat the Clock match. Punisher Martinez puts up quite the fight but within 2:18, Finn Balor hits Coup De Grace and defeats him. Scott Dawson and Baron Corbin have a brutal back and forth that eventually sees Dawson walk out the victor of, Corbin gritting his teeth in frustration as he watches his opponent leave up the ramp, danger in his eyes. Eli Drake wins against Sami Zayn after reversing his helluva kick into a piledriver just enough to pin him for the three.

Tye Dillinger and Bully Ray team up against Davey Richards and Mark Briscoe in an elimination tag match. Bully makes quick work of Davey, eliminating him with a Bully Bomb. Mark enters and Bully tags Tye in, the younger man just holding his own against chicken's redneck kungfu long enough to catch him and send him backwards into a spinning backbreaker. Struggling to his corner, he just manages to tag Bully back in and then has to watch as a recovered Mark takes him down quickly with more kungfu, then hitting a Funky Bow from the top and pinning him, which leaves just Mark vs Tye. Dillinger exhales before entering the ring, catching Mark in a lock up in the middle of the ring. Mark overpowers him quickly and sends him flying back but when he tries for more kungfu, Tye's done playing around and quickly lands a Perfect 10, pinning him with just enough leverage to defeat him.

Curious to see what she can do, Shane puts ODB in a handicap match against Bayley and Dana Brook, who are far from pleased at having to team together. They may get along somewhat better now without Charlotte in the picture, but Dana wants to do her own thing, not get bogged down with partners and handicap matches, and the like. Her mood does not improve when ODB takes her down early on, leaving her floundering just close enough for Bayley to tag in and meet ODB with a Bayley to Belly, continuing to fight back until TNA's woman's champion has no fight left in her, unable to kick out after a solid knee to the face from the second rope followed by another suplex. Dana's left laying there as Bayley celebrates, anger pulsing through her at losing her moment in the sun offered here tonight.

Bushi and Sheamus put on a clinic, the two of them working rough through out the entire match, just for Bushi to take one second too long off of a reversal and taking a Brogue Kick straight to the face, ending the match to the crowd's regret. Dash Wilder draws out Alberto El Patron's offense until Balor's time has passed, finishing the match mid-move to Alberto's disgust. He tries arguing with the referee but there's nothing for it, the time's out. He's lost, and his annoyance towards it shows as he finally locks in the armbar on Dash until the referee forcefully breaks it up, Alberto immediately storming up the ramp to the back.

Despite all of the highflying moves in his repertoir, Andrew Everett is eventually overpowered and taken out by Luke Harper, getting caught in mid-dive by Harper's massive boot. In the last Beat the Clock match of the night, Shibata's slow, methodical style works against him and Matt Hardy wins within 1:49, snagging him into a twist of fate when he tries to land G2SK on him. Sasha faces off against Naomi next, only just eaking out a victory after avoiding her attempt at a Rear View and hitting the Bank Statement, digging in with as much pressure as she can until Naomi finally gives up getting to the ropes and taps. Following this, Randy Orton defeats Jay Briscoe with an RKO after catching him while he's attempting a frog splash from the top rope, the elevation proving enough to keep him down long enough for the three count.

Shane watches all of this, nodding as he makes notes of who wins what to account for cycle points. This leaves the main event, which he goes out to announce right now. The crowd greets him cheerfully and he hums under his breath as he walks down to the ring. "So, as you all have noticed, while my sister recovers, I have been put in charge of Team Work. I wanted to wait until now to announce the main event of the evening because of who it involves." He shuffles around a bit, eyeing the titantron. "Seth Rollins, could you please come out here?"

Seth isn't granted the courtesy of a microphone so as he walks to the ring, he looks confused. Tries to talk to Shane over the general buzz of the thousands of people in the crowd, but Shane ignores him. "So, I understand that what happened to my sister wasn't entirely your fault, it was as much on HHH as it was on you. But I'm curious how well your knee can hold up now. Trainers have been telling me different things leading up to tonight. What do you say, up for a challenge?" There's a test here, Seth can smell it, and Shane smirks when he nods, gritting his teeth and pulling his shirt off to prepare for whatever's to come next. "Good. I need a ref out here."

As an official jogs down, Shane gets out of the ring and heads backstage to watch. Seth exhales, stretching as best as he can in the short amount of time he has... before John Skyler comes to the ring, determined and certain. It's a fast match, Seth's knee barely twinges as he fights past the younger man, eventually getting enough momentum to send him into the ropes and catch him in the face with his knee on the backswing, securing the victory for himself. Neville comes out next and Seth eyes him, not having much interaction with him since their respective injuries. Neville sneers at him and Seth grimaces, rushing forward into a lock up that leaves Neville struggling to get the upperhand. Seth is about to overpower him when Neville plants one leg and kicks out with the other, hitting Seth right in the knee and sending him crumpling to the mat, gripping his leg.

The ref pushes Neville away and starts to check on Seth, just to be waved off as Seth struggles back to his feet. Neville puts distance between them as Seth lunges at him again, limping slightly, but this time Seth forces him into the corner and knees him as hard as he can with his good leg, staggering Neville. Hoisting him up, Seth goes in a tight circle before running and slamming him into the turnbuckle once more. Neville slumps to the mat and Seth hovers over him, choking down breath before hoisting him up by his hair and trying to push him off to set up another knee to the face, when Neville catches him with a spin kick, sending Seth down to his knees and leaving him vulnerable there. Kicking him over, Neville lands a standing moonsault but his pin attempt fails when Seth kicks out at 2. Forcing him to his feet, Neville then tries to go for a suplex but Seth grabs him and lands another solid knee to the face, downing him immediately and pinning him.

Seth is sweaty, unstable, and rubbing anxiously at his knee when... Cesaro's music hits. He closes his eyes and grimaces as one of his closest friends makes his way down the ramp, not even bothering with the tear away clothes tonight. They stare at each other as he enters, and then shakes hands before the bell rings. They go slow, neither wanting to push things. They train together, sometimes wrestle for fun when the cameras are off, so they know each other's styles. There's a lot of missed shots during the feeling out process and Seth eventually lands a solid strike to the side of Cesaro's side, not surprised when this is followed up with a hit to the face. He laughs, wipes at his mouth and glowers over at Cesaro before they set on each other for real- kicks of growing intensity, brutal punches and forearms, and before long the audience is on their feet, watching as these two men give it their all. Dodging another knee, Cesaro sweeps Seth's legs out from under him before collecting him and spinning him for a good minute, Seth's face pale and eyes far past unfocused when he finally lets him go. He's just gripped Seth's legs, preparing to shift into the sharpshooter, when he feels the deep padding of Seth's kneebrace under his fingers and immediately freezes, realizing.

Seconds pass, giving Seth an opportunity, and he plants the sole of his boot right in Cesaro's midsection, kicking him away. "Don't do that!" he snaps at his friend, slapping at him. "Don't take it easy on-" A forearm to his face shuts him up and he rocks, even more unsteady on his leg.

"You're my friend, I'm not injuring you just to win a point!" Cesaro snaps back at him, the words fading away as Seth tackles him down and begins punching him, mostly just to take a minute to catch his breath, regain his equilibrium. but it backfires when Cesaro reverses, starts raining down punches and forearms of his own. Seth squirms under the ropes, kicks Cesaro off finally and lands on the floor below, still standing there when Cesaro dives through the ropes at him and knocks him back, Seth staring up at the lights as Cesaro rolls into the ring to break the count, then back out to collect him and push him back into the ring. "Not taking easy of you now, am I?!" he's just yelled when Seth lands a solid strike to his jaw, leaving him rocking back and forth on his heels... before Seth gets up and sweeps his legs out from under him, heading up to the top turnbuckle where he flies off and hits a solid Pheonix Splash that leaves Cesaro completely limp as the ref counts out the pin.

Seth is exhausted, wore thin and thinks, hopes, that that has to be it. But no, he's slumped against the mat, trying to breathe, when Jeff Hardy's music starts to play. Seth tries to fight, goes through the motion, but everything is faded, far away, and he feels dizzy, far away from everything that's happening. Each hit feels like it's landing on someone else's body, every fall a shuddering bit of nothingness... and then he blinks his eyes opened and sees Jeff on the turnbuckle above him, preparing and then spinning off onto him. All Seth can do is lay there and watch through blurry vision as he lands the Swanton Bomb directly across Seth's chest, winding him and leaving him completely devoid of energy, unable to kick out of the pin.

_I hope you're happy now, Shane,_ he thinks, pressing his face into the mat as Jeff celebrates overhead.


	72. chapter 72

With the worst of his emotions from Wrestlemania behind him and the Superstar Shakeup past, Shane settles into running Team Work for the second week in a row with a more focused mindset, a clearer sense of direction. Stephanie is doing well, and Vince seems pleased with what he's been doing, so Shane feels good. He signs off on the night's booking and sits back to watch, foreseeing no major problems.

The evening starts off with Alberto El Patron facing off with Dash Wilder, their equally rough styles working together, neither pulling any punches against the other. After a few minutes of brutal back and forth, leaving them both staggering and hard to get re-focused, Alberto tries to move into position for the armbar, but Dash resists and chops him hard in the chest, repeating it until he gives some space. When Alberto tries to head forward again, Dash kicks him in the face and sends him to the mat, tangling him up in an inverted figure four leglock, digging back with everything in him until he hears Alberto smacking against the mat, the referee calling the match in Dash's favor.

A six man match pitting Luster the Legend, Adam Thornestrowe and Matt Hardy against Scott Dawson, Finn Balor, Davey Richards sees Davey insulting and ignoring his partners, somehow overpowering the younger tag team wrestlers and Davey ciches the victor despite his ego and everything else working against him. The crowd buzzes as another Beat the Clock challenge is announced, whispers about Shane preferring Beat the Clock matches like Stephanie used to be obsessed with guantlet matches all through out the opening announcements. Jay Briscoe defeats Matt Morgan in 4:29 minutes after catching him in a Jay Driller.

Chris Adonis walks out successful in a triple threat match after catching Cesaro in the Adonis Lock after Cesaro destroys Magnus with a European uppercut. In the second Beat the Clock match of the night, Andrew Everett competes against Mojo Rawley, his highflying offense working against him majorly when he goes up to the top rope just for Mojo to lunge after him and landing a solid, running forearm to Andrew's face, sending him flopping down to the mat and allowing Mojo to drag him further to the middle of the ring and pinning him in 3:26, defeating Jay Briscoe's time.

TJ Perkins comes out for the next match, Neville's music following his as his new associate comes out to watch the match, an annoyed, pinched look on his face as always. He smirks over at Neville as he gets into the ring, watching with an intent look in his eye as Neville takes a seat at ringside, title belt held loosely over his shoulder. Stretching a bit, TJ looks unimpressed as Rocky Romero makes his way to the ring, the two men eyeing each other until the bell rings and they can get started, the referee moving out of their way. Locking up immediately, Rocky gets the upperhand and TJ grits his teeth as he hits the mat hard, taking his breath momentarily before he's back on his feet and hits Rocky hard enough that he rocks back, shaking his head with a hiss before hitting TJ back, following it up with a high knee. He staggers and leans against the ropes, trying to breathe in deeply.

Emboldened by Neville's intense gaze on his back, TJ rushes forward and ducks a kick, gripping him around the head and landing a neckbreaker on him before leaping up onto the ropes to land a frog splash. He crashes and burns hard when Rocky rolls out of the way, gripping his midsection and gasping. Rocky forces him to his feet and suplexes him before locking in a guillotine choke. TJ's eyes begin to water as the lack of oxygen affects him more and more, his arm wavering over the mat until he looks up, aimed just enough to the side to face Neville. They stare at each other, a displeased glower on Neville's face. Neville shakes his head slowly and TJ closes his eyes, feeling the tension drain out of him. _I can't lose now_ , he thinks, bracing himself and shooting his arm out, landing an elbow to the side of Rocky's face. Relieved, he repeats the action again and again until Rocky's grip loosens and TJ rolls out, landing a knee and quickly getting away while rubbing at his throat.

When Rocky gets up and rushes at him, TJ grabs his arms and forces him into a double knee gutbuster, using the opportunity to segue into the TJP Clutch and grinding back on the move until finally Romero gives up on getting to the ropes and taps, rolling away and gripping his knee as Neville gets out of his chair and stands by the ring, staring Rocky down when TJ joins him, a smug look on his face.

In a guantlet match, Trent Beretta defeats a weakened Jay Lethal after he'd already beaten both Sheamus and Jeff Hardy. In the third beat the clock match of the night, AJ Styles gets some revenge against Kenny Omega but fails to defeat the previously set time, ignoring the referee as he proceeds to attack and ultimately lands a Styles Clash on Omega before kicking him squarely in the back, rolling out of the ring while the referee continues to yell at him.

In the final Beat the Clock match of the night, Tye Dillinger beats Braxton Sutter within 1:47, successfully achieving the best time. Mark Briscoe defeats Sami Zayn after reversing a Blue Thunder Bomb into a Cut Throat Driver. Despite Jey Uso trying to get some offense against Chris Sabin, he holds strong and eventually takes the man down with a fisherman driver. Clearly angry by his twin's loss and refusing to let the same happen to him, Jimmy Uso doesn't let up on Dean Ambrose, ducking to avoid his reverse lariat and immediately focusing on his always iffy arm, twisting it and listening as Dean struggles, trying to fight out, get some distance. It doesn't happen, Jimmy continually targetting every weak spot he knows Dean to have with shoulder checks and rough punches until he clips his legs out from under him, using the time they'd hung out together against him. Once Dean is down, Jimmy goes up top and lands a bonerattling splash across his midsection, wrecking his ribs even more than they were already and pinning him to the crowd's shock when Dean fails to kick out in time.

The main event is a triple threat match pitting Allie and Nia Jax against Rosemary. Allie watches anxiously as the bell rings, Rosemary cackling lowly as Nia stares on, nonplussed. The ref urges them to begin and Nia goes right for Allie as Rosemary cracks her neck and lurks around behind them. Allie tries to fight, dropkicking Nia but barely staggering her. Nia grabs her, preparing to sling her away, Allie landing past Rosemary and groaning. Nia bumps into Rosemary on her way back over to dish out more pain and Rosemary's eyes immediately flash. Nia ignores her, grabbing Allie, but before she can do anything, Rosemary jumps up and wraps her arm around Nia's chin, knocking her back in a Russian legsweep. As soon as she's down, she leans over her and sprays mist all over, the vibe in the arena turning colder, menacing as Nia gazes up at her, intense eyes turning dull and lifeless within seconds. Satisfied, Rosemary turns to Allie and tilts her head. Intimidated, Allie lifts her hands and backs away, clearly fretful.

Casting a quick glance at Nia, who is still down, Rosemary grabs Allie by the hair and, unsurprised by her lack of fight after seeing how easily Nia had been taken care of, Rosemary hoists her up into a fireman's carry and then slams her down face first, rolling her up to win the match. Rosemary sneers as she leaves the ring and walks up the ramp backwards, watching with some fascination as her influence on Nia fades away and the woman sits up, glaring at Allie who wisely rolls out of the ring, holding her hands up in supplication.


	73. chapter 73

Now that Wrestlemania and the Superstar Shakeup is over with, things have quieted down. Calmed. Shane finds himself able to think more about Team Work, which is still under his control for now while his sister continues to recover from going through the table. He taps his finger against the roster page and nods, quickly scribbling out a match listing. Getting up, he goes to tack it up himself on the bulletin board outside, smiling and nodding at a few of the competitors wandering around, waiting for this very thing. As he heads back to the office, he chuckles at the cacophony of voices nitpicking their matches, some sounding pleased or intrigued and others sounding bored or reluctant when they see the names of their future opponents.

The first match of the night pits Jinder Mahal against Marty Scurll and, after a vicious back and forth between the two, Jinder landing every impactful strike he can manage against Scurll's own brutal kinds of offense, Scurll walks out victorious after reversing Jinder's attempt at a neckbreaker into a swinging underhood suplex, dazing him long enough for a pin. Marty laughs as he rolls out of the ring, only just avoiding Jinder's spitting tirade afterwards.

Luke Gallows and AJ Styles are reunited in an elimination tag match against Epico Colon and Bobby Lashley, Epico not too pleased with being mixed up with Lashley. Gallows and AJ exchange a quick "too sweet" before the match begins, Gallows starting off against Lashley. They square off in the middle of the ring, Lashley quickly sending Gallows across the ring before running forward to send him back down with a forearm. Gallows struggles to get his feet under him, get some offense of his own in, when Lashley hits a belly to back suplex, Gallows changing his plans and instead scrambling over to tag AJ in. AJ rolls his eyes and immediately focuses, hitting a pele kick on an advancing Lashley, rocking him with a solid punch. Fed up, Lashley storms over to the other corner and tags Epico in with a resounding slap to his chest, glaring him down until he enters the ring.

It doesn't last long, AJ already waiting to land the phenomenal forearm, which sends Epico nearly back out of the ring. Lashley looks on, unimpressed, as his partner is pinned and defeated, which forces his hand for getting back into the ring. AJ holds him back with kicks and forearms, trying to get him in position for the Calf Killer, when Lashley pushes him away and punches Gallows off of the apron so AJ has no assistance for a bit, gripping him and bodyslamming him back before covering him to a two. AJ attempts to fight back once more just to get met head on with a spear, Lashley landing heavily on top of him and pinning him down for a three count. Gallows looks less than thrilled as he rolls back into the ring, glaring at Lashley. This brawl is a bit more even, Gallows using Lashley's general weariness after dealing with AJ to his advantage and catching him with a big boot before avoiding another attempt at the spear, sending Lashley into the corner and catching him as he staggers out, chokebombing him down to pin him, finally cinching the victory.

Kevin Owens then defeats Ortiz after swatting away most of his offense and taking him out with a popup powerbomb, and ROH's newest top prospect Josh Woods defeating Low-Ki.

Shane, curious to see what his sister's latest knight in shining armor (sort of) can do, pits Samoa Joe in a three on one match against Santana, Jeff Hardy, and TJ Perkins. The three of them are easily swatted away by the man, Jeff and TJ trying to use their highflying against him while Joe is distracted with beating Santana down, TJ eventually landing a dropkick that sends him staggering away from the man, Jeff following it up with a swanton bomb off the top. They're all three trying to recover enough to get hands on him again when he rises up with a roar, sending them all flying before grabbing TJ and slamming him bodily down onto the mat, pushing him clear out of the ring. He's back on Santana, tearing at him angrily, when Jeff returns and grabs him, landing a twist of fate. TJ's back in and on the top rope, landing a diving high knee that snaps Joe's head back and all but KOs him, TJ almost rolling clear out of the ring from the momentum and forced to watch from where he's clinging to the ropes, too dazed to move, as Jeff scrambles forward and pins Joe, all three of them relieved that the match is over, that they'd survived as they rush out of the ring and escape up the ramp to avoid Joe's rage following the loss.

Naito claims Ultimate X against Karl Anderson, Shane Taylor, Kongo Kong and Primo Colon, holding the garish X up with a smug look while they glare out at him from their various places in or around the ring in the aftermath of the match.

The main event puts Rosemary, Charlotte and Alexa Bliss in a triple threat I quit match, Rosemary looking quite smug as she peers over at her opponents, remembering the week prior. Charlotte seems unperturbed as she takes her robe off and stretches in the corner, Alexa's confidence wavering ever so slightly as she waits for the bell to ring. As soon as it does, she's gone, lurking outside of the ring to watch Charlotte and Rosemary go at it. Charlotte gets the upperhand, hitting Rosemary with a chop that sends her back, gasping for air, but when Charlotte tries to follow up, she recovers quickly and sweeps her legs out from under her before locking in a modified Boston Crab, wrenching back as far as she could to make the woman tap while keeping an eye on Bliss outside.

It takes too long, however, Rosemary quickly growing impatient with struggling to hold the move, and eventually releases Charlotte, kicking her solidly in the ribs before hoisting her up for the Red Wedding, just to get a solid knee to the face. Charlotte rolls free and tries to land Natural Selection, just for Rosemary to reverse it into an Exploder Suplex that sends her clean out of the ring. Alexa chooses then to scramble in, trying to get Rosemary while she's distracted, but Rosemary spins and prepares to spit the mist that had been so decisive the week prior at her, that maddening look in her eye, when Alexa squeals and drops back, arms lifted in supplication. "I QUIT!" she declares, not wanting to be affected by the spray. She immediately scrambles out of the ring and up the ramp, watching as Charlotte struggles back into the ring, allowing Rosemary to immediately hit the Red Wedding and trying again with the Boston Crab, Charlotte's body torqued even worse this time, her screams echoing through the arena until the fight leaves her and she follows Alexa's example, both tapping and yelling out her own failure, "I quit! I quit!"

It takes some time for the referee to finally get Rosemary to break the hold but when she does, she looks thoroughly pleased with herself, standing over Charlotte's brutalized body with the unused mist dripping obscenely down her chin as she takes in the crowd's displeasure at this result, laughing cruelly the entire time.


	74. chapter 74

Shane sighs as he wanders the halls of Team Work once more, shuffling around in his sneakers anxiously. It's not a hard thing to handle, this show, with putting the cards together and keeping track of the cycle's point winners, but it's been over a year since his sister started this thing up and contract negotiations have never been his strong suit, but they've finally confirmed Lucha Underground's return to the show once it starts doing shows again in mid-May so he feels like he can breathe a little easier.

The first match of the night pits Matt Sydal against Braun Strowman and, even with Strowman injured, he upholds his own. Swats Sydal away like he's a gnat any time he tries to hit offense from the top rope and all around just bodies the guy, eventually slamming him viciously to the mat with one of his patented roars, successfully pinning him.

Austin Aries faces off with Kenny Omega next, the two of them eyeing each other disdainfully before the bell rings and they're at it, exchanging brutal blows that leave the crowd cringing as the impacts echo through the arena. Kenny tries to sweep Austin's legs out from under him but he quickly recovers and smacks his arms together on either side of Omega's skull, causing his ears to ring as he staggers away to regain some composure. He grabs him and twists into a Kotaro Krusher but only succeeds a two count as Aries kicks out and immediately rolls out of the ring, needing a moment now too. But it's a very short moment as he gets back in just in time to be met by Omega's running knee strike, landing hard on the mat and twitching as he struggles to catch his breath. Kenny turns to yell something at the crowd, which leaves Austin just enough time to recover and get back to his feet before grabbing Kenny and landing a shinbreaker into the saito suplex. Bridging into a last chancery, he pulls back with all of his strength, ignoring Kenny's attempts to scramble to the ropes and rolling him back into the middle of the ring before re-applying the hold and waiting with his teeth gritted until Kenny finally taps, granting Aries the point.

Dana Brook walks out successful in a triple threat match against Sasha Banks and Christina Von Eerie, and Ortiz takes out Vinnie Marseglia. Still riding high from defeating his former best friend, Chris Jericho survives all of Santana's offense with a fixed determination and eventually lands a solid codebreaker on him, pinning him. AJ Styles finds himself in an impossible situation in a triple threat match against Bray Wyatt and Kalisto, his every attempt at offense meaning very little as Bray keeps teleporting away whenever AJ tries to land a phenomenal forearm or force Bray into the calfcrusher. Kalisto does what he can, but he's mostly in the way, used as a shield or a distraction for Bray, so of course- AJ's up and dives down just for Bray to teleport away so Kalisto takes the move straight to the face, almost knocking his mask clean off. "Sorry, sorry," AJ says repeatedly before pushing Kalisto up and into a pin, holding his breath until it's over, Bray not showing his face again.

Until, that is, AJ looks up and sees him standing on the entrance ramp, laughing hoarsely to himself before sinking onto the silver mesh and tilting his head, eyeing AJ like he's a freshly chopped piece of meat. Before AJ can say or do anything, his eyes flash, the room goes dark once more, and when the lights recover, he's gone.

Wilcox leaves the victor against Jay Lethal to the crowd's surprise, and then it's time. Enzo Amore is pacing around backstage, mumbling under his breath while Cass watches him calmly. "It's ok, Zo, ya got this. Like always."

"Easy for ya to say, big guy, you haven't been on the other end'a losing streak." He tugs at his beard, runs his fingers through his hair, and ultimately tries to leave while still so frustrated and shaky. Cass stops him, towering over him for a moment, before holding his fist out. Enzo flushes a little, half smiling up at him as he reaches out and fist bumps him before throwing his arms around what of him he can reach. "Be back in a few, big guy."

Cass nods, sorting his fingers through Enzo's hair. "I'll be waitin' on ya, Zo."

It's a little bit of a comfort, that Cass is always there no matter what, so Enzo squares his shoulders and goes. His opponent is Fandango, which is something of a relief. Not Luke Gallows, or some other monster. The guy mocks him, belittles his dance, throws fashion crime tickets at him and laughs after each slip of paper hits the mat. Finally the referee yells at him and the bell rings and they can get down to business. Fandango tries to hit him but his are the standard fare you'd expect from a pretty boy dancer and Enzo easily ducks, lands a few solid blows of his own that leaves Fandango hunched over, gasping for breath.

He does recover, after a few moments, and Enzo goes after him again just to get boots to the face, Fandango making space between them with dropkicks. It's like Enzo's strikes had made him nervous, because now he keeps his distance, playing the long con with as many lengthy blows as he can hit. Enzo's down after a spinning wheel kick had struck him unaware when Fandango heads up for his diving leg drop but just as soon as Fandango makes the leap, Enzo's on his feed, Enzo has him and uses his forward motion to DDT him into the mat, as dazed as the crowd when he achieves the three count.

Cass is ecstatic when Enzo stumbles backstage, breathless but grinning, and hugs him so tightly that his toes are a good foot off of the ground. "I knew you could do it!" Cass enthuses, thumping Enzo a couple of times on the arm. Their good moods are only interrupted by the theme music of Cass' opponent up next and he rolls his eyes, leaning over to adjust Enzo's clothes before heading out. "Be right back." He's not wrong, it's a near nothing match against one of TNA's new wrestlers, Mayweather, and it's over before Enzo can even fully catch his breath. One large boot to the face and it's over, Cass barely bothering to lean over to pin him completely before he's back on his feet and making his way back to Enzo. "Now, let's celebrate!" he says, eyes gleaming as Enzo nods.

"Yeah, big guy, let's do that." They leave side by side, dicussing Enzo's match from start to finish, Enzo already embellishing the story in ways that are just so... _him_ that all Cass can do is shake his head and grin _._

Next is a triple threat match with Seth Rollins facing off against Matt Hardy and Shibata. The three men have never been in the ring together before and they start off gingerly, feeling each other out, trying to learn each other's offensive and defensive tendencies. Once the match warms up, it's brutal, Seth doing his best to keep Shibata out of the ring while focusing his offense on Matt. This all back fires when Shibata grips the ropes while Seth's trying to run into them to get momentum to attack Matt, sending him slinging out of the ring and down to the floor below, dazing him while Shibata gets into the ring and begins wrestling Matt. Seth lays for awhile and listens to the impact of moves overhead before forcing his way up, staring inside for a moment, adjusting his knee pad.

When he rejoins the fray, Matt greets him with a forearm before sending him into the corner and using a downed, unsuspecting Shibata as a base for whisper in the wind, borrowing his brother's move to stagger Seth to a two count once he collapses down to the mat below. Shibata gets up while Seth rolls back to the apron, trying to get some distance, and gets a twist of fate for his trouble. There's just no recovering against Matt, every time they try, he hits them with something and even when they get a little offense, he doesn't stay down for long, this growing look of madness in his eyes that seems to be fueling him. Eventually he lowers a shoulder and sends Seth clean over the top rope, crashing to the ground below, unable to do anything but listen as he takes Shibata out with another Twist of Fate and pins him.

The main event is a battle royal, the audience cheering and booing at random intervals as Matt Taven, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, Tyler Breeze, Jack Gallagher, Apollo Crews, Finn Balor and Kongo Kong all make their way to the ring. The eight men all branch off into separate brawls until Kong almost eliminates Breeze, then the entire ring turns on him, realizing the main threat early, all working together to get him cleared from the ring. As soon as he's gone, they each pick a new target and more eliminations are attempted. It's Tyler Breeze who gets the unfortunate distinction of being number two, hitting the outside hard after Jack Gallagher slings him over and then headbutts him off cleanly.

Taven is struggling with Orton in the corner, his new found confidence since returning from his knee injury leading him to try to get rid of the obvious favorite in this match, punching and kneeing him in an attempt to weaken him enough to send him over- when Finn Balor hits him with solid knees between the shoulderblades, rocking him. It's easy from there for Orton to recover, grab him by the neck and sling him onto the apron. One dropkick between the ropes and it's all over for Taven. Orton holds no allegiance to Balor, however, and quickly boots him over the top rope as well, one sharp fist to the jaw enough to cause him to teether, and another to completely knock him out.

Jeff Hardy is struggling between Apollo Crews and Jack Gallagher, eventually ducking another headbutt attempt and sending both men onto the apron beyond. Crews grabs on tightly but Gallagher is a bit dazed so all it takes is a sharp elbow to the side of his head and he's gone, all of the headbutts catching up with him. Apollo's luck runs out as Orton slinks up and hits him with an RKO right then, right there, his body thudding against the mat in near slowmotion as the crowd gasps.

Immediately Jeff and Orton face each other, eyeing the other at length. They know each other pretty well, have done this dance before. Orton smirks while Jeff's lips twitch up. "It's been awhile," Jeff mouths and Orton nods, his gaze sharp and impatient while Jeff circles him, and then lunges forward, the two of them exchanging punches. One sharp uppercut rocks Jeff, then a knee to the sternum leaves Orton gasping for air, rebounding with a forearm that causes Jeff to hit the ropes. Orton sneers, sensing his opening and rushes forward just for Jeff to duck, his own momentum sending him over. He plants his feet on the apron, however, and grabs Jeff by the neck, trying to drag him over with one arm, the other clinging to the ropes with all he has... but Jeff controls his landing as well, the two men standing side by side with only a tenuous grip on the ropes keeping them in the match as they exchange punches and, in a fit of desperation, Orton grinds the heel of his boot down on Jeff's foot, watching the agony cross his face.

The crowd is buzzing, waiting for this stalemate to end, when it does just that- Orton shoots out with a sharp elbow straight to the face, and Jeff, still feeling the affects of Sheamus' boot from the night before, goes down hard, giving Orton the win. He sneers and moves over to the turnbuckle post, climbing it to stretch his arms out in his standard pose, overseeing the crowd, his defeated opponent, and everything else in the arena that is rightfully his as world champion.


	75. chapter 75

Shane yawns, rubbing at his eyes. Handling overseas tours, along with general Smackdown business _and_ his sister's side-show would exhaust anyone, he thinks, but if you gloss over the hours of paperwork and finalizing contracts and whatever else, he really does enjoy all of it. Having the power to make the best shows he possibly can for all fans in attendence or watching at home, booking some dream matches and handling the general drama backstage between the various competitors. Humming to himself, he nods at this wrestler and that as he wanders backstage, pinning up the week's card. "There ya go," he mumbles, proud of himself for some of the things he's set in motion tonight.

The opening match sees the beginning round in the first ever woman's Beat the Clock match, pitting Alicia Fox against Natalya. It's a rough looking match, the two women exchanging blows until Alicia fights with everything in her to keep Natalya grounded, stretching her out and putting as much pressure on her body as she possibly can. Natalya eventually powers out of it and kicks Alicia in the ribs, sending her down to one knee before she grabs Alicia and slamming her down to the mat, trying to pin her... just for Alicia to kick out at 2. Staggering back to her feet, she grips Natalya around the waist and suplexes her down before bridging into a pin, Natalya struggling and only succeeding at kicking out just before the ref's hand hits the mat a third time.

Before Alicia could recover enough to try more offense, Natalya sweeps her legs out from under her and moves to lock in the sharpshooter, Alicia exclaiming in shock and struggling to get to the ropes before the move is fully locked in. "No, no, no!" she cries out, finally using her long legs to ruin Natalya's base and sending them off-balance until Alicia can get to the ropes, wrapping her arms and legs around them once she's got distance from Natalya. The ref alternates between lecturing Natalya and yelling at Alicia to resume when Alicia rolls out, then back into the ring and hits a scissors kick on Natalya while she's not expecting the move. Or the pin that follows, giving Alicia the victory in 5:49. Alicia's immediately all smiles as she takes in her winning time, blowing a smug kiss to the audience before flouncing backstage happily.

Tye Dillinger takes down Karl Anderson next, twisting one of his diving neckbreakers into the Perfect Ten. Matt Sydal defeats Nick Jackson after this, hitting a 450 Splash on him while he's prone on the mat after a reversed superkick attempt. The night rolls on as Alberto El Patron destroys Apollo Crews, nothing that TItus O'Neil says or does any help against the Mexican aristocrat's angry offense.

The next match is the second Beat the Clock challenge, Emma coming out to face Carmella. She looks uncomfortable, her arm held in a sling, and she hesitates unhappily on the apron as James mocks her from ringside, gripping his arm and pretending to cry while Carmella laughs from inside the ring. Before things can properly get started, Shane's music hits. "Excuse me, excuse me," he calls out. "Emma unfortunately was injured yesterday, so I am unable to allow her to compete tonight. But since it's all such late notice, we will be replacing her with Alexa Bliss. Emma, if Alexa is successful tonight, you both will gain an extra point for this cycle." He stands aside and watches as the Raw women's champion walks out, looking far from pleased with this entire situation.

She casts him an unhappy glower, certain that she'd avoided his nonsense since leaving Smackdown... just for this to happen. Mumbling unhappily to herself, she gets into the ring and faces off with Carmella, holding her hand up dismissively when James starts to call out to his friend/girlfriend/whatever they're claiming to be this week. Emma is standing with one hand on her hip, the nails of the other digging into the material of her sling as she watches. Carmella and Alexa know each other pretty well by now, instinctively going through the motions as they wrestle and search for a weak moment, a vague distraction, anything that could help- when Emma grips Carmella by the foot and trips her up, leaving her vulnerable to a solid elbow to the face by Alexa.

"Hey!" James yells, approaching Emma's side just to duck back away when she turns towards him sharply, a bitter anger in her eyes over being injured _again_ so soon after returning. Carmella eyes her warningly before turning just in time to miss Alexa's grab, hitting her with a solid boot to the face before twisting it into the Code of Silence, Alexa struggling until her face turns pasty, then purple, finally tapping within 3:28, meaning she's beat Alicia's time. Emma all but tears her sling off, throwing it away, before gagging from the pain of moving so quickly and leaving her arm throbbing at her side, vulnerable and all but useless right now.

"You had one chance!" Emma screams at Alexa once she's within hearing range.

"Shut up! At least I'm not some invalid that needs someone to wrestle for me!" Alexa screams back, the sound of their arguing audible even after they've made their way backstage.

Next up is an elimination tag match that sees Ethan Carter partnering up with Rich Swann against Magnus and Cody. Refusing to even look at his temporary partner, Ethan runs roughshod over both men, quickly eliminating Magnus with a One Percenter and then turning his focus onto Cody. They brawl, Cody grimacing against the hits that Ethan lands against his torso and shoulders, before trying to land a knee... just to get driven into the turnbuckle, Ethan lunging forawrd to land another One Percenter when Cody finds some reserves of energy and sends Ethan flying back against the ropes... just for Rich to tag in and wait until Ethan's run towards Cody, reversing whatever he was going for and sweeping under his arms, suplexing Cody back with as much agony as he can inspire.

Only then does Rich Swann get into the ring, the ref yelling at Ethan until he obliges and heads out to the apron, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at Rich as he pins Cody successfully, mostly because of him and the offense he'd managed to land before Swann's tagging himself in. Ethan's anger is visible as he eyes the other man, the sting of losing out on that point pretty much the final straw for him. "If you ever do anything like that again, I wll make you regret the moment you drew your first breath," he says coldly before turning and leaving as quickly as he'd arrived.

Rich swallows, only just able to dance his way out of the arena after that tense warning.

The crowd reacts, mostly positively, as Tiger Mask W defeats Dolph Ziggler with the Tiger Suplex. Akira Tozawa takes out Matt Jackson, leaving him unable to kick out after a bridging German suplex. In the final Beat the Clock challenge of the night, NIa's strength works in her favor and she takes Sienna out with a popup Samoan drop just in the nick of time, beating Carmella's time by mere seconds, the clock overhead flashing that she'd won in 3:19. Kongo Kong defeats Punishment Martinez after a brawl that leaves the crowd holding its breath at the two rough, large individuals going back and forth. The Club's bad luck continues as Jinder Mahal defeats Luke Gallows, partially because of the Singh brothers lurking at ring side, looking for any opportunity to help the Maharaja to victory.

The main event is an Ultimate X match pitting Kevin Owens, The Miz, Adam Cole, Austin Aries, Jack Gallagher and Kazuchika Okada against each other. Aries is overly experienced in these kinds of matches and he waits while everyone else starts to brawl before climbing up to the crisscrossing ropes overhead, trying to shimmy across early and get what he needs. Except that Gallagher and Miz both notice, scrambling to stop him. Mike gets his legs up and crawls, shaking the rope so viciously that Aries can barely hold on, having to stop halfway to the X. He grits his teeth, glaring over at Mike before he loosens a foot from where it's curled around the rope and succeeds at landing a kick against Aries' thigh, again and again until he has no choice but to drop, Gallagher meeting him with a headbutt in a ridiculously timed bit of offense.

It's so ridiculous that it makes Owens stop short while in position to pop up powerbomb Okada into the mat, his eyes wide. It gives Okada the opportunity to lift up and knee him in the side of the head, staggering him and allowing Okada to squirm free before gripping Owens by the wrist and slinging him forward into the Rainmaker. As the crowd shows its support, he rushes for the ropes and begins to climb, Mike, Gallagher, Aries and Owens all still down from their various brawls. But this leaves Adam Cole and he meets Okada before he even gets up onto the ropes properly, gripping him by the thighs and slamming him down to the mat before. Recovering is a struggle and all Okada can do is watch as Cole starts to advance towards the match-ending X in the middle of the ring... but then Aries recovers and jumps up, racing across to the ropes and squirming over until he can kick Cole in the face, digging his heel into the other man's nose until he drops.

Exhaling, Aries inches over to the X and just touches it when Gallagher's stupid umbrella opens right in his face, Austin's jaw dropping as his hands are swatted every time he reaches out for the winning item. "Hey!" Before he can do anything about the umbrella, Mike sneaks up from the other side and grabs for the letter, eyes fixed and determined... before Okada gets up, and dropkicks him hard in the side, breaking his focus and leaving him hanging there... before Owens lunges forward, snags him and adjusts both of their positions before popup powerbombing him into the middle of the ring, just missing Gallagher.

Frustrated with the umbrella still in his face, Aries course corrects and jumps down, landing on his feet before punching Jack straight in the face and gripping his umbrella with a dangerous look on his face. "No, wait-!" Jack tries to plead just for Aries to break the thing over his knee, Jack crumbling down and touching the pieces of his favorite weapon reverently. Aries scoffs and kicks it out of the ring, _almost_ not surprised when Jack immediately jumps up and headbutts him, dazing himself but nearly knocking Aries off of his feet with the force of it. While they're busy brawling, and Miz and Cole continue to strain climbing the turnbuckle, Owens and Okada face off on the other side, Okada already half way across when Owens joins him. The ropes strain under the weight of them on it, but holds, and Okada continues to try to shimmy forward... just for Owens to get close enough to land brutal knee after brutal knee, eventually dazing Okada and sending him crashing to the mat below.

Aim now not hindered by anything, Owens squirms the rest of the way and pulls the X free, smirking across at the displeased audience as he leans against the nearest steel surport beams set up around the ring to hold it all together. "One more point for me!" he yells at them all, lifting the X successfully over his head while their brawls slowly fall apart, none of them seeing the reason to continue when they have nothing to fight for. It only makes Kevin laugh more, how hopeless they all look, before climbing down and kissing the letter right in the middle. "One more step closer to me defeating you all and getting the title opportunity I've been looking for a way to get the last few months." He points at the five remaining men. "Enjoy your losses."

Beyond pleased with himself, he rolls out of the ring and lifts the X in one last taunt before turning to disappear behind the curtain.


	76. chapter 76

Now that everyone's back in the States, Shane's content to find that the landscape hasn't changed too drastically- a couple of injuries to account for, but nothing too significant. Especially on Smackdown's side. He looks at the list of booked matches and smiles, feeling pleased with the card for the evening. "Time to get this show on the road," he murmurs, going to put the page with the booked matches up. After stopping to talk with a couple of wrestlers scattered around the hallway, he slips back into his office and turns on the TV to watch the show as it begans.

The night starts off with a tag team match, pitting Hanson and Cesaro against Jay Briscoe and Fandango. Being from different federations, the two teams only having a passing awareness of each other. Hanson and Cesaro shake hands quickly, but Jay looks far from pleased with getting paired with Fandango, and it shows in their partnering up, Hanson and Cesaro more willing to tag in and keep the upperhand through-out the match. After struggling against their regular tags, Jay takes Hanson out by pulling him off of the apron and throwing him into the barricade wall, leaving Cesaro alone with Fandango. Cesaro is distracted by the happenings outside, which allows Fandango to land a wheel kick, dazing Cesaro long enough for Fandango to get a good hold of him and hit the Falcon Arrow, pinning him. Jay doesn't seem thrilled with not getting the point himself, but Fandango is so thrilled that he even slaps a couple of fans' hands on the way up the ramp. Well, the better looking ones, at any rate.

The next match pits Dalton Castle against Garza Jr and the luchadore seems unimpressed as he makes his guady entrance, Boys surrounding him on either side before moving into position to ease him into the ring. Garza is overwhelmed quickly, suplexed nearly out of his boots repeatedly, but all it takes is Laredo Kid to appear and take out the two Boys with a splash off of the turnbuckle post to the outside to distract Dalton, give Garza enough time to recover and strike Dalton with a rapid fire blast of knees and strikes until locking in La Campana, the Boys unable to help on the outside as Laredo KId watches over them, the crowd generally displeased when Dalton finally gives into the pain of the submission hold and taps out angrily. As soon as Garza releases him, he rolls out to the Boys and Laredo wisely retreats, allowing Dalton to throw an arm over both Boys and try to sooth them while he and Garza celebrate the win in the ring.

Baron Corbin walks out the victor of a six man match after teaming with Marty Scurll and Nick Jackson against Moose, Erick Rowan and Hangman Page, and Tanahashi succeeds in a brutal, hard hitting match against Kevin Owens after avoiding a pop up powerbomb attempt and laying him out with a kick straight to the jaw, leaving him open for a high fly flow.

The next match sees Sasha Banks against Laurel Van Ness, a disgusted look on her face as her opponent comes to the ring, still wearing smudged makeup and a wrinkled, torn wedding dress, wine bottle in hand as she toddles around, alcohol strong on her breath. Sasha complains to the referee, not wanting to get injured while wrestling a drunk, but the match is sanctioned and there's little that can be done with it, Laurel immediately taking advantage of Sasha's hesitation and planting her with a dropkick, laughing under her breath as she wavers on her bare feet. Sasha scrambles, trying to get her feet out from under her, but heartbreak had brought on rage unlike much seen in wrestling currently, and Sasha can do nothing but try to defend as Laurel hits every possible part of Sasha's prone body, squeeching and yelling insults for another woman, another man.

Sasha tries to fight back, even lands a good, solid punch to Laurel's side that leaves her staggering away, gasping for breath, but when Sasha tries to go for a belly to belly, Laurel squirms free, the flowing fabric of her dress making that stupidly easily, and while Sasha is staggered, knees her in the face before planting the heel of her foot against Sasha's head and curb stomping her into the mat, pinning her.

Will Ospreay walks out the winner of the 12-man Battle Royal that follows this, greeted with grim congratulations or full on glares on his way up the ramp and even in the depths of the hallways by Jinder Mahal, EVIL, Sheamus, Finn Balor, Raymond Rowe, Tyler Breeze, Andrew Everett, Mark Briscoe, Laredo Kid, Bray Wyatt and Jonathon Gresham. By the end of it all, he's relieved to be able to duck into the nearest locker room and consider just how quickly his career's been moving the last few months.

Rocky Romera defeats Bully Ray, and Natalya is successful in a mixed tag match with Chris Sabin against Alexa Bliss and Kushida, a pleased look on her face as she makes her way backstage.

The audience quiets as the Elimination Chamber lowers to the ring, slowly filling up with the six competitors- Silas Young and Trent? all stay in the ring while Christopher Daniels, Alberto El Patron, Matt Jackson and TJ Perkins make their way into pods, locked securely once they're inside. Silas is a brutal competitors and it shows as he throws Trent against every available surface, the glass, the chains, the steel of the cage. Everything is a weapon for him and Trent can't even get a solid punch off before he's being slung somewhere else, his body quickly covered in welts and discolored wounds. He continues the torture until finally the clock runs out and lights flash from pod to pod before coming to a stop on Alberto's, the impatient man storming out and immediately chopping Silas hard and sending him rocking back a few steps.

They both ignore Trent as they set on fighting each other, both man's take no prisoners style leaving the crowd holding their breath as the hits land louder, echoing harder in the arena, and then Alberto lands a solid enzuigiri that sends Silas almost upside down against the side of the cage. Alberto hits a knee that smashes him against the cage before twisting his arm up into the dreaded armbar, the steel of the chamber biting into Silas's flesh until he finally has no choice but to tap out. Trent has somehow regained his footing but Alberto scoffs at him and quickly lands a spinkick that finishes what Silas started, leaving him unconscious in the middle of the ring and almost painfully easy to pin and defeat.

There's still twenty seconds left on the clock before the next entrant is let in so Alberto stands in the middle of the ring and turns in a slow circle, watching the three remaining pods with a disinterested look on his face. He all but laughs when Matt Jackson is the next in, a look of dread crossing the man's face before he squares his shoulders and enters, trying to immediately get the first offense in, rushing head long into a clothesline that sends him crashing to the mat, almost folding in on himself. Alberto forces him back up before striking him hard, Matt hitting the canvas with a bonerattling thud that makes the majority of the crowd hiss out an "ooh" in sympathy.

Alberto seems to be trying to outdo Silas Young's earlier actions as the time ticks down, neither Daniels or TJP looking all that eager to enter this melee. But nothing can be done for it, when the clock runs out and the light lands on TJ, his pod snapping open, he enters the ring with about as much hesitation as Matt had, clearly not sure what to do first to try to stay upright and not crawling desperately, each movement pure agony, and he grits his teeth, facing off with Alberto while all alone. "What would Neville do?" he mumbles to himself before shrugging and giving himself over to the physicality that's to come, as he always does. He actually lands his first strike, a kick straight to Alberto's chest, and it seems to surprise them both, but Alberto quickly recovers and answers with a kick of his own that sends TJ to his knees, straining to breathe.

When Alberto grabs him by his hair, forcing him to his feet, he strikes out and lands a solid punch to the man's face, but this only seems to make him angry as he spits out to the side in disgust, pulling TJ up until they're eye to eye, TJ's feet dangling a few inches off of the ground now. He kicks, trying to find a way out of this, but there's nothing to be done for it- Alberto is angry and definitely in control of this situation, his MMA past showing itself as he lands a couple of quick, sharp jabs with his free hand- and God, that's humilating that TJ can be so easily manhandled by someone like this, but he barely has time to think about it when Alberto tosses him aside like he's fresh garbage and he lays crumpled, struggling to breathe through the pain when Alberto's on him, wrenching his arm back and locking in the armbar that'd wrecked so many people's careers in the past.

He yells and strains, trying to get some sort of relief, distance, something, but there's nothing for it. Much longer and his arm will tear out of socket, and then all of his aspirations to be 2 time Cruiserweight Champion- to earn an opportunity against Neville... all of it would be meaningless, so he taps desperately, expecting some sort of relief... just to panic, choking on his own breath when Alberto doesn't release the hold, actually seems to be wrenching back further on the limb. He's begging in both his mother tongue and in English when the crowd reacts- the clock had run down while both were distracted and Alberto quickly releases TJ just to find himself trapped in Christopher Daniel's sights, the ROH champion meeting him with a lariat that almost sends him down on top of TJ, who only just rolls out of the way, beyond eager to get out of here.

Daniels is fresh and, even though Alberto had had the upperhand in all of his fights up to this point, he's still more worn down, and this leaves him open to Christopher tossing him in a sit-out powerbomb, Alberto's teeth rattling in his skull from the impact. Alberto kicks out but Daniels seems undisturbed, quickly segueing into an exchange of punches and chops that leaves the audience breathles and in awe, Daniels turning the tide with a running neckbreaker that leaves Alberto writhing on the mat. Christopher has just moved to him when Alberto regroups enough to land a dropkick that sends Daniels down, Alberto immediately going for his arm... but Daniels fights out, knees him desperately in the face. Alberto slumps to the mat and Daniels gasps for air, rubbing his arm. Even though Alberto hadn't locked anything in in time, Daniels can't help the lingering promise of pain that leaves him shivering, especially after seeing the agonized shade of green covering TJ's face from how the move felt for an extended period of time. He wants desperately to finish this but he's not sure if going for Best Moonsault Ever would be wise, so instead he tries for Angel's Wings, relieved that he'd changed his mind when Alberto meets him with a solid chop to the chest that leaves Daniels dropping to his knees, struggling to suck in a breath.

Alberto moves deceptively quick then, gripping Daniels' wrist and wrenching back, preparing to lock into the armbar until Daniels takes advantage of his awkward footing, rolling his body weight forward until he takes Alberto with him, finally breaking free of the hold once they hit the steel, Daniels' weight crushing Alberto against the grates. Daniels laughs at the anger on Alberto's face before getting to his feet, deciding to end it. Grabbing the back of Alberto's head, he bangs his face into the steel, scraping him along the uneven steel and chains, before driving him into the glass. It makes an ugly noise but doesn't entirely break, and this is good enough for Daniels as he goes up, and prepares, holding his breath as he flies out for the Greatest Moonsault Ever. He lands but every inch of him that hits the steel then complains against the smallest movement so he thinks he's lost but by the time he manages to roll fully over Alberto, he's still motionless and Daniels holds his breath while the ref counts.

The three count is the most beautiful thing Daniels has heard... until he feels his body getting twisted up into a high schoolboy, Matt Jackson scrambling desperately until the ref finishes counting and it's over. All of Daniels' fighting for nothing as here this punk Jackson has taken the win from him. He glowers at Matt as he laughs and makes his way back stage, obviously beyond proud of himself. "Jackass," Daniels exhales, rubbing at his shoulder and feeling relieved that Alberto's stormed off in a fit of disgust, cursing the entire way.

"Eh what can you do?" Daniels mumbles, shrugging as he goes around the ring and takes pictures, signs autographs with some of the crowd still lurking around, his smile sincere and calm as he puts the match results aside for now.


	77. chapter 77

Backlash leaves Shane McMahon with a lot of decisions to make. More complications to endure, _and_ an unhappy viper to ease. But for now, he's still at the helm of his sister's show so he sits back to watch the show progress, pushing Smackdown out of his thoughts for now. He'll decide after a good night's sleep how he best wants to handle everything going on with his roster.

The first match of the night sees Tanahashi get defeated handily by Kongo Kong, his injured arm leaving his offense sorely lacking and what remains all but pointless against the much larger man. The next match that follows is more give and take, the action spreading out for long, tense moments as the crowd waits for either Naito or Sami Zayn to get the upperhand and keep it for longer than a few moments. When it finally happens, Sami landing a solid Helluva kick and nearly sending Naito out of the ring, just to snag him by the ankles and send him back into the middle of the ring, pinning him, the crowd erupts in respect of what they'd just witnessed.

Next up sees Kevin Owens against Neville, the cruiserweight title and US title sitting side by side with the timekeeper as the two men in the ring eye each other, neither impressed by what they're seeing. Neville sneers, dodging Owens' attempt at a punch, sweeping out with a kick that Owens deftly avoids as well, his brows furrowing as Neville smirks. Both settle into their moves, swapping between offense and defense as necessary, Neville's speed keeping him up with Owens' power and flexibility. Finally they pause, eyeing each other and trying to think of the next move, the next attempt to put the other down, something... anything. It's a silent cue more than anything that makes them start again, Neville grunting when Owens bats away an attempt at a roundhouse kick just to snag him out of thin air and sling him up, pop up powerbombing him to the mat. Before he can pin, however, Neville rolls out of the ring, grabbing at his back and gritting his teeth.

Owens is too impatient to wait for him to get counted out or roll back in so he goes out to collect him just to be met by a solid knee to the jaw while he's still in the ropes, Neville's angle leaving him with an easy view of Kevin and not vice versa. It dazes him, he slumps nearly on top of Neville, who scrambles away and back into the ring before Kevin can regroup. Once they're finally back in the ring, Neville laughs bitterly and brushes his hair impatiently out of his face. "It's over now, Owens," he yells across the ring at him, Owens unimpressed by his overabundance of confidence even after all of this. What exactly he's planning no one finds out because Owens meets him with a superkick, a little bit of revenge for the outside of the ring, and Neville rocks back just to be tangled into Owens' tight grip, folded up in an uncomfortable angle before being dropped down into a package fallaway powerbomb, Owens immediately pinning him for three while the crowd stares on, dazed at the brutality of that final move.

Neville is so staggered by the force of the move, the loss, that he can barely walk, continuously rebuffing the referee's attempt at help even when he falls to his knees on the entrance ramp, clinging to his title belt and struggling to make it on his own... until TJ Perkins runs down and kneels by him, talking lowly to him until he nods through gritted teeth, allowing TJ to hoist his arm around his shoulders and guide him upright once more, walking slowly up the ramp while Neville struggles to hold onto his belt, head hanging.

Shane isn't sure what kind of management style people at TNA really has, only knowing of the company through rumors and scuttlebutt he'd heard from his family over the years, but if Low KI is any indication, they're not too far off the mark. The guy is smug and doesn't even look at Shane as he barrels past him between matches, Shane quickly grabbing the match list and making a couple of changes to things while Low Ki walks down to the ring. It takes some quick talking but seeing the look on Low Ki's face when he realizes his simple match against Dillinger had become a handicap match against Tye, Nakamura _and_ Big Cass (with Enzo running around outside of the ring, keeping the crowd hyped) is totally worth it. More so when Low KI tries to escape the ring and ends up a few feet away from Enzo, face twitching as the hyperactive man yells in at his tag partner. Enzo crumples quickly after a headbutt followed by a dropkick that sends him into the steel steps and Cass immediately forgets it's a tag match, rushing out to grab Low Ki and all but slinging him back into the ring, eyes flashing dangerously as he grips the top rope and re-enters the ring, kicking Low Ki solidly in the face before running to pick up momentum and landing his Empire Elbow, Low Ki wheezing under him as he pins him.

Nakamura nods, and Tye is peeking over at Enzo, so Cass rolls out quickly and scoops his partner up, holding him close while Enzo dazedly reaches out for him, eyes more than a little glassy. Biting his lip against the noises he wants to make as fresh fear for his friend, and memories of his last concussion barely a year ago, overwhelms him. "I'll get you to a trainer, you'll be fine," he promises, hoisting Enzo up and walking off.

TJ Perkins reappears for the next match, a grim determination in his eye as he faces off against his opponent, Tyler Breeze. Except that Breeze too has things to make up for, the loss against the Usos fresh in his mind, and it's clear he's not going to take it easy on TJ as they meet in the middle of the ring and Tyler starts off with a sharp kick to the side immediately, TJ arching away from the abrupt strike. He rallies, lands a few solid hits of his own, Tyler blocking what he can before shifting forward and landing a dropkick that gives him enough space to rush forward, collect TJ and try to land an Unprettier... just for TJ to wiggle free and land a few kicks low on Tyler's knee, then grinding his knee into the back of Tyler's leg while he's down, trying to weaken his leg for an attempt at one of his submission holds.

Tyler attempts another kick from this vulnerable position but TJ dodges, knocks Tyler aside and tries to lift him up for the detonation kick... just to receive a knee to the face, staggering him and leaving Tyler deposited on the floor. He quickly recovers and catches TJ with the Beauty Shot, the man's body crumbling somewhat satisfactorily for Tyler as he dashes over and locks in a single leg Boston crab, careful not to put too much weight on his own injured leg. TJ fights, struggles to get to the bottom rope, but he's breathless and his leg is shifting in ways he doesn't like, and he can only imagine how Neville will react if he goes out with a knee injury _now_ , so he gives in and taps, the both of their losses a disgusting taste in his mouth as Tyler rolls away to celebrate his win.

Continuing their success, Fandango defeats Ortiz in the match that follows this one, but Santana turns things around for LAX by taking Jinder Mahal out with a Blockbuster. Despite neither being thrilled with having to face each other, Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso brawl viciously, echoes of how they must've fought as children, lulled by the family's history in wrestling. Despite how hard Jimmy tries, there's no keeping Roman down, the pure pride of it all insisting he continually get up to his feet no matter how Jimmy fights, eventually landing a Superman Punch that keeps his cousin down just long enough for the three count, the cousins embracing afterwards once Roman helps Jimmy up and dusts him off with a simple grin at the sullen look on Jimmy's face.

Following this is an elimination tag match pitting Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy against Jey Uso and Luke Harper, Harper's crazed gaze immediately locking on his former Wyatt brother. Orton seems unbothered by any of it, this just another stop before he gets his hands on Mahal again, but this distraction works against him, he nor Jeff exactly friendly as they debate who's to begin. By the time they're done, Harper is kneeling behind Orton and, as soon as he turns, surges up and lands a solid forearm that sends Orton rocking back. From there, Harper doesn't give him a moment to breathe, he and Jey gelling oddly well as some of the Usos' tricks work just as well with Harper's taller form, Jey sweeping from the top rope and splashing down upon Orton once Harper tags him in, fresh off of his spinning side slam. It proves to be just enough, Jeff looking far from pleased as he's left alone to deal with the both of them. He does eventually get the better of Harper, his speed working against the man's more methodical style, powering through all of the solid strikes Harper manages and kicking him in the chest and then hitting the Twist of Fate to eliminate Harper and leaving it down to him and Jey.

Jey looks unimpressed, cricking his neck from left to right before starting in, Jeff's offense so well known after growing up watching the Hardy Boyz that he can dodge most of it in his sleep, and does so easily, Jeff's face tensing up as he realizes that there's nothing out of the old bag of tricks that will easily work against Jey. He tries to mix it up a bit, tries to move faster, but nothing works- Jey eventually overpowers him and sends him crashing to the mat after a failed Whisper in the Wind, and all Jeff can do is watch, breathless, as Jey goes up and lands another arching splash, leaving Jeff in a fugue state where he can't even be bothered to kick out, nothing making sense to his muddled mind.

The main event is Ultimate X, Carmella vs Alicia Fox vs Tamina Snuka, and the two members of the Welcoming Committee smirk at Alicia, Noam Dar and James Ellsworth on either side of the ring, eyeing each other distrustfully as the three women in the ring examine the bright red X held over their heads. "Let's go Alicia," Noam yells out and James blusters, standing up straighter as he catches Carmella's eyes, not wanting to be outdone.

"You've got this, princess!"

Tamina huffs at not having anyone to cheer for her before striking out at Alicia, whipping her head back in shock as the match finally begins in earnest. She has an uphill battle on her hands, having to deal with both Carmella and Tamina, James and Noam's shouts of encouragement for either of their preferred ladies barely paid attention to by the three in the ring while they fight for the point. Alicia eventually is down, Carmella twisting her up in the Code of Silence with a smug look on her face, when James begins to shout at her- "CARMELLA! TAMINA!"

Immediately Carmella moves, sees Tamina already half across the ropes to get the X. "HEY!" she squeeches, untangling herself from Alicia and racing to grab the other woman. "NO you don't!" She has her by the legs, tugging back with all of her strength, when Tamina hits her with a solid elbow. She cries out but continues holding on, James encouraging her while Noam urges Alicia to get up. Finally Carmella's determination wins out and she takes Tamina down, slamming her against the mat before glaring down at her. "We were supposed to work together!"

There's no time to think about it, however, because Alicia is up now, diving into both of them and striking Carmella with so many slaps and elbows, a couple of knees here and there for good measure, that Carmella can barely keep her focus during the melee. However, Tamina eventually revives and grabs Alicia, slinging her to the other side of the ring before cornering Carmella there, glowering down at her. Carmella glares back before they're both distracted by some fuss outside of the ring- her face brightens when she realizes that James has taken Noam out with a No Chin Music, but- wait, there's Alicia running out to get at James and protect Noam and- oh hell no! Carmella pushes Tamina out of the way and slides out in time to get between James and Alicia, staring her down viciously while James insults her from behind him, emboldened by Carmella's presence. "Get away from him, what the hell do you think you're looking at?" she demands, pushing Alicia back.

Alicia has just squared up, looking like she's about to hit Carmella, when they both freeze, realizing that there's only two of them out here, which means... they both gape in the ring, Alicia first back in as Carmella joins her, both working to catch Tamina once more and keep her from winning. Alicia snags Tamina with this ridiculous kick, her legs working in her favor and catching the woman in the side, causing her grip to slip just enough for Carmella to leap up and grab her by the legs, weighing her down until she has no choice but to let go, the two of them falling into a crumbled heap on the mat. "Get off of me!" Tamina scrambles, kicking at Carmella, who is still dazed from everything, but it's no help. Again, Alicia's long legs work in her favor as she hops up the turnbuckle post, grabs the crisscrossing ropes and shimmies across like it's as natural as breathing, grabbing the X while the other two continue to argue below her, failing to get untangled from the other before it's over, the bell ringing to announce Alicia's win.

She laughs and blows a mocking kiss at the disappointed James before dropping down easily and racing out to hug Noam, who's just struggled to his feet, gripping his jaw and staggering around. "I won!" she cries, half supporting him, half glomming all over him as he tries to celebrate with her.

"Stop fighting," James begs from inside the ring as he tries to ease Carmella away from Tamina, both women's angry glowers sending him cringing back until they're both free, standing anxiously behind Carmella.

"I would've thought you'd have been better at working together as a team than this considering you've never been decent enough to be on your own for long in this business," Carmella snaps at Tamina before turning. "C'mon, James, let's blow this dump." As she grips his hand and leads him up the ramp, not skipping for once, he glances back at Tamina with a worried look on his face, her own expression frighteningly blank as she stares back at them.


	78. chapter 78

Shane sighs, staring down at the card for the week. Some wrestlers aren't here, so the card looks a little light, but there's not much he can do about that due to the holiday. However, Lucha Underground will be back the next week, so that... interesting group of wrestlers will be under his thumb soon enough. He rubs his jaw uncomfortably, wondering how _that_ will go. Shrugging, he goes out to look in on the roster, make sure everything's running smoothly before the event begins.

The first match of the night pits Bray Wyatt against Jey Uso and, although Jey does put up a fight and even succeeds at landing a few decently damaging moves against the mysterious man, Bray ultimately wins when he snags him out of mid-air while attempting a splash, kissing his forehead and planting him into the mat with Sister Abigail. AJ Styles and Kalisto fight back and forth, the masked competitor determined to eake out a victory after a rough couple of weeks on Raw, but even he can only do so much against AJ's smooth offense, eventually taking a pele kick to the face that rocks him long enough for AJ to hit the Styles Clash for the pin.

Next up sees Alexa facing off with Becky. Raw's women's champion struggles to keep afloat against Becky's _straight fire_ , eventually rolling out of the ring to have a breather. She struggles for something to do, desperately, and eventually climbs under the ring, looking for something while the crowd buzzes in confusion. Finally she comes out with a kendo stick and the ref starts lecturing her about what'll happen if she brings the weapon into the ring but before she can even approach, Becky has her, dropkicks her and draws her back into the ring, scooping her up into the Bexplex and then bridging into the Disarmer, wrenching back until Alexa, seeing her title reign in danger, has no choice but to tap out, gritting her teeth against the agony in her arm as she rolls out to avoid any further damage from Becky.

KM defeats Josh Wood in a speedy fashion, his ego propelling him to overwhelming the ROH newcomer. Following this is a rough back and forth that eventually sees Cody Rhodes defeating Matt Hardy after reversing a Twist of Fate into Crossrhodes. Jimmy Uso faces off with Samoa Joe next, most of the match spent with Joe brutalizing the tag champion until the lights abruptly go out and Bray Wyatt's laughter echoes through the arena, Joe perplexed and tense, waiting for Bray to appear, just for Jimmy, who's recovered enough to crawl up the ropes and splash onto Joe, taking advantage of his distraction just long enough to pin him.

Using his frustrations towards the Fatal Fiveway this Sunday to his advantage, Finn Balor walks out the winner in an Ultimate X match, making up for his failure to succeed on Raw in a multiman match by leaving Mayweather, Shinsuke Nakamura, Wilcox, Kongo Kong, Eddie Edwards, Austin Aries and Akira Tozawa all in his dust, walking out with the bright red X and another point for this cycle after knocking Nakamura off of the ropes with a revised version of Coup de Grace.

Sasha and Charlotte are put in a handicap match against Alisha Edwards, neither seeming thrilled at being here, and Alisha comes close to winning with a couple of smartly executed DDTs whenever they begin to argue, their former issues overwhelming their determination to win, but eventually, after Charlotte is taken out with a tilt-a-whirl headscissors that sends her out of the ring entirely, Sasha gets the upperhand and locks in the Bank Statement until Alisha has no choice but to tap or risk serious damage. As Alisha rolls out of the ring, gripping her arm, Charlotte glares over the apron as her rival celebrates the win.

The main event sees Ethan Carter III facing off with Sami Zayn and he laughs nonchalantly as he watches the man make his way down to the ring. He scoffs, unbothered by this contest, and Sami raises an eyebrow at him. "Have you seen what I do to guys like you?" he calls across the ring to him, watching with smug satisfaction as Sami's lips tighten.

"I've dealt with much worse than you, trust me," he responds coolly, shaking his wrists out.

"We'll see," Ethan says, glad when the bell rings so they can begin. He foregoes the standard feeling out process, immediately going dirty and greeting Sami with a punch that rocks him back on his feet. Grips him by the hips and hoists him up and over into a suplex, going straight into a rearnaked choke. Sami struggles, scrambles, and finally shifts far enough to the side that he succeeds at elbowing Ethan in the head, repeating the motion until he's finally freed, struggling to his feet while rubbing at his throat. Ethan rushes for him but Sami catches him with a dropkick, landing heavily and watching through bleary eyes as Ethan glares at him, trying again to grab him just to get grabbed and arm dragged into a armbar that leaves him gritting his teeth as his weaker arm gets tugged and twisted in angles it shouldn't go.

Sami wrenches back harder and harder until Ethan abruptly gets his feet under him and hoists Sami up, slamming him back down in a corkscrew neckbreaker, laughing breathlessly as he gets out easily after that, Sami too dazed to do much of anything. Trying to work feeling back into his arm, Ethan stomps on him a few times and sighs, already bored of things. Hoisting Sami up once more for the One Percenter, he hums carelessly under his breath, holding Sami supine for a few moments before... Sami elbows him hard, startling him long enough for Sami to squirm free and land a kick to Ethan's side, staggering him back and putting enough space between them for Sami to set up the Helluva Kick. Except that Ethan recovers quicker than expected and he grabs Sami in the middle of the ring, gripping his tightly and not delaying this time around as he crashes Sami down to the mat in a viciously successful second attempt at the One Percenter, pinning him with his arm digging into the other man's face as the three is counted out.

He laughs coldly as he gets to his feet, nudging Sami with his foot dismissively. "I told you I know what to do to guys like you." Scoffing under his breath, he turns to smirk out at the displeased crowd, arms outstretched as if absorbing all of their hatred towards him and anger at Sami losing, before waving them off and rolling out of the ring, smirk growing as the boos intensify behind him.


	79. chapter 79

Turning his attention from Smackdown to Team Work always take a minute. Shane exhales, rubbing at his eyes. Thankfully Team Work is more straight forward, he has no real control over the people here, just as long as they uphold their half of the bargain- competes as scheduled and eventually challenges for the titles of their choosing at the end of a cycle. He thinks it's only this that's keeping him together week by week, his traveling time growing a little bit each week as he waits for Daniel to finish with paternity leave and return to take some of the strain off of him.

Exhaling, he leans up to tack the week's card up, eyeing it. "I think this'll do," he mumbles to himself, heading back to his office to oversee the matches, relieved to have a mug of coffee waiting for him, the caffeine helping him to stay with it for awhile longer.

The first match is a six man, pitting Rocky Romero, Matt Hardy, Goto, Samoa Joe, Bushi and Raymond Rowe against each other. Joe and Rowe take them all out, fighting amongst themselves before Matt Hardy regroups enough to dropkick them, staggering them and allowing Bushi to grip the top rope and send them out to the floor, snagging them and spiking Joe onto the mats before Matt dives out, taking all of them out. Goto and Romero examine each other before meeting up in the middle of the ring, exchanging blows that makes people in the crowd cringe and recoil at the sound of flesh on flesh. The others are still regrouping on the outside when Rocky hits a solid Kurayami Piledriver, downing Goto long enough for him to get the pin. He scrambles up the ramp, laughing, while the others gape around, unable to believe that the match had ended so suddenly.

The next match is a triple threat pitting Neville against Seiya Sanada and Kalisto, the men all eyeing each other suspiciously. Neville sneers dismissively at them, Kalisto looking impassive under his mask, but there's a strange intensity about Sanada, his hands flexing into fists the longer he looks at Neville. Finally, the bell rings and they begin- Kalisto all but forgotten as Sanada goes straight for Neville, greeting him with a kick that rocks him backwards, his eyes flashing angrily as he grips his face. Kalisto tries to interject but Sanada has none of it, regularly pushing him aside or dropkicking him away when he becomes too much of a nuance.

"What the bloody hell is your problem!?" Neville finally screams at him, getting a solid kick in to his midsection and causing Sanada to fold in half, choking for air. It's not until he has ahold of Sanada, forcing him to look up, that it clicks with him. "Oh, you were alligned with TJP in TNA, weren't you?" He barks out a mocking laugh. "I would say you should be thanking me, he's such an ungrateful little-" His words die away as Kalisto gets him, swinging through a hurricanrana that leaves Neville sprawled on the mat, staring up at the ceiling in a daze. Sanada recovers and the two of them begin working together on him, leaving him curling in on himself and trying to defend himself somehow, someway, against their offense.

Kalisto has just landed one last kick when Sanada grabs him and suplexes him next to Neville before turning as he sits up and spits mist directly into Neville's face. Neville flails, the burning agony in his eyes unbearable and, despite himself, he remembers how TJ had been the night he'd had beer spit into his face, and wonders if it was anything like this. Before he can think about it any further, Sanada has him, trapping him in a dragon sleeper, body scissors combo. He hopes that maybe Kalisto will recover enough to help, or something, but he can't even see which way he's twisting to know if he's heading towards or away from the ring ropes. Finally, he gives up, he taps with a rage-filled yell, gritting his teeth against yet another loss to another submission hold that he should've been above by now.

"And by the way, you were right," Sanada tells him. "That _was_ for TJ." They may have had problems, the Revolution possibly ended poorly for all of them, but still. He still considered that period of his life very important, a learning curve that was sorely needed. He would always have some level of a bond with all of the men in that faction for that reason.

Dean Ambrose is put in a gauntlet match next, the first two matches against Yano and EVIL, his offense strange to them and easily able to slip up during trapped in the midst of, causing both of them to lose thanks to Dirty Deeds and his lariat. Austin Aries is his final opponent and it's clear he doesn't want to be here, only sttempting to fulfill his contractual obligations. Dean does his best to pull him out of wherever his head's at following his loss to Neville, considering Dean isn't in a great headspace right now either and would _love_ a proper beat down, especially with a guy he kinda knows from the indys all of those years ago, but Aries' offense is half-assed, his defense sloppy. Giving it up as a lost cause, Dean sighs grimly and hits his third Dirty Deeds of the last twenty minutes, pinning Aries and putting everyone in the arena out of their miseries.

In the first of three Beat the Clock challenges that night, Lowki walks out the victor against Hanson, his speed overwhelming the man's strength and leaving him vulnerable to a Ki Crusher, allowing him the victory within 3:49. Jack Gallagher succeeds against Ortiz, and Titus continues his cycle of winning at any cost necessary, defeating Moose after thumbing him in the eye and hitting the Clash of The Titus. Alberto El Patron makes quick work of Rich Swann, all but laughing in his face with each bit of offense before finally locking in the armbar and leaving him no choice but to tap out before his arm is torn clean out of its socket.

Alexa succeeds in a triple threat match against Sasha and Allie, Sasha and Allie's attempts at getting rid of Alexa so they can fight each other backfiring when Alexa regroups and dropkicks Sasha clean out of the ring, sending her soaring into the barricade wall before locking Allie into a keylock, wrenching back as she screams and writhes in pain, finally having no choice but to tap out and grant the victory to Alexa.

A second Beat the Clock match ends with no winners, Trent Beretta and Adam Page fighting to a draw as the time passes too quickly for either to achieve a three count. This is followed by a triple threat match that's supposed to be Cesaro vs Ishii vs Sheamus, but the new tag team champions work together, either trying to keep him out of the match or fight to pin him. His every attempt at fighitng normally- albeit the 2 on 1 thing- becomes impossible, Sheamus nodding briskly after brogue kicking him into one of Cesaro's uppercuts, Ishii so far gone that he barely flinches when the bells rings.

Elias Sampson defeats Naito, and Fandango wins against Jeff Hardy. Next is a tag match pitting The MIz and Sami Zayn against Santana and Tyler Breeze. What should've been a decent, competitive match becomes something ugly, neither Sami or Miz able to figure out how best to work together- much less who should be the easiest to target- when Santana interrupts. Sneers him at then lands a suplex that leaves them both gritting their teeth and trying to figure out a way to work together. Nothing helps, Sami doesn't like Miz and Miz decidedly doesn't like Sami, so it's not that much of a surprise when Mike eventually throws up his hands and heads backstage, not wanting to risk his recent Intercontinenetal title reign for _this._ Santana quickly makes fast work of Sami them, pinning him before Miz can react, his expression tense as soon as he realizes what's just happened, resuming his argument with Sami all the way up the ramp.

The final beat the clock match pits Dolph Ziggler against Kazuchika Okada, and it becomes clear early that the clock matters little to Okada- he speaks solid enough Engish that the i _nstant_ Ziggler says something about Nakamura, about CHOAS, and NJPW, Okada hits him with a graceful dropkick, sending him stumbling back, scandalized. Ziggler tries to fight back but Okada's offense is too fluid, too unstoppable. Until Dolph dodges another attempt at a dropkick, Okada hitting the ropes and setting himself up for Dolph's superkick, which rocks through Okada's tall, lean body. They're struggling to land their various finishing moves, Okada unable to land the rainmaker due to Ziggler constantly dropping, or just plainly fighting free, and Ziggler missing his attempts at hitting the ZigZag because Okada had scouted him. They're still trapped in this tete'a'tete when the clock officially runs out, both men looking disgusted at the loss.

Shinsuke Nakamura, who is in the main event next, however, doesn't, coming out early to greet his CHAOS brethern with a hug and some quickly exchanged words before heading to the ring for his match. Against Roman Reigns. Who he quickly confounds, either brushing away Roman's offense like it's nothing or constantly getting up for more. Superman Punch, spear, whatever Reigns tried. It never mattered, Shinsuke would continue getting up, continue fighting. He's sweaty and clearly in pain when he lands a solid boot across Roman's face, staggering him. He grips him, he twists him around and lands a double-knee backbreaker, listening to him yell out in pain as he rolls away to get away from it, but Nakamura won't allow it, running to pick up momentum before landing a knee strike to Reigns while he's sprawled out in the corner, gasping for breath. This seems to wake Reigns up as he gets to his feet and staggers upright, but agaiin Nakamura's there to meet him, the Kinsasha attempt that follows staggering him. It takes a second attempt to get him to his knees and a third just to make Nakamura confident enough to pin him, the ref seeming as relieved to count the three as Nakamura is to achieve it.

Nakamura chuckles warmly, lifting his hands out to the crowd, hoping they all can hear him without a working mic or anything else. "Thank you!" He smiles when they begin to cheer, easing his doubts and allowing him to celebrate without doubts.


	80. chapter 80

Money in the Bank is so close, Shane can practically taste it. Has always felt a particular fondness for the PPV, especially with the music so similar to his own theme. He smiles and looks down at the monumental card before him, hoping that all goes as well as he thinks it could. But for now, he turns his attention to Team Work. To booking a decent card, to keeping the talent as happy as he possibly can until the matches begin.

The night starts off with Rocky Romero facing off with Xavier Woods and defeating him after reversing Xavier's attempt at a dropkick from the top rope into a kneeling reverse piledriver, leaving him so dazed and out of it that the pin is basically a foregone conclusion. Following this, Bushi defeats Kalisto after batting away his attempt at Salida del Sol, flowing his momentum into a double knee facebreaker, rolling Kalisto up for the win. Davey Richards walks out the winner of Ultimate X, leaving Kushida, Big E, SANADA, Sheamus and Johnny Mundo watching from all around the ring, varying looks of anger, disappointment and disgust on their faces as he celebrates with the garish red X head overhead to prove his new points in the challenge. Jinder Mahal defeats Naito with a Khallas early on into the match after the Singh brothers distract him, the brothers laughing from either side of Mahal as Naito glowers at them, danger in his eyes.

Tamina Snuka faces off with Kobra Moon next, looking unimpressed with the woman's sleak movements, her piercing stare. Tamina lands the first strike, a solid knee to Kobra's midsection before gripping her mask and slinging her away. Kobra rebounds, even manages a solid headscissors, but Tamina's strength overwhelms her and she gets to her feet after landing a boot to Kobra's head, suplexing her back before preparing for something in the corner, waiting for Kobra to get to her feet. As soon as she's up, Tamina's off running, landing a solid European uppercut that immediately downs Kobra again. She goes up top and lands a Superfly Splash, pinning the woman and staring down at her as she lifts her arm in victory.

Samoa Joe defeats Lucha Underground's Vibara in barely a minute, landing a kick that rocks him before locking in the coquina clutch, leaving him struggling and failing to gain a full breath before he passes out, the referee calling it as soon as he fails to respond. Natalya succeeds in a triple threat against Rosemary and Carmella, even James' attempt at helping to get Carmella free of Natalya's sharpshooter not enough, Rosemary keeping up on the man while he's distracted, preparing for vengeance since James had stupidly grabbed her by the ankle when she'd been able to finish Carmella off. Carmella taps at about the same time James realizes what predictament he himself is in, a quiet squeak coming from his mouth before he turns and runs, determined to get away from her while Natalya celebrates her win in the ring overhead.

Takahashi somehow holds on against Alberto El Patron, eaking out a victory after reversing an armbar, hoisting Alberto up and landing a solid back-to-belly piledriver that even El Patron can't recover from in time. Chuck Taylor gets the win against Cesaro by immediately recovering from his airplane spin, grabbing him and twisting his body around until he lands an Omega Driver, laughing in Cesaro's ear as the ref makes the three count, Chuck winning. Lucha Underground's Pindar defeats Yano, the crowd still not sure what to make of the new face to this contest as soon as he gets his hand raised in victory.

Next up pits Trent Beretta vs Shinsuke Nakamura, the crowd buzzing after they sing along with his entrance, everyone oohing when Nakamura meets Beretta with one of his kicks, downing him immediately. Trent tries to regroup but there's really not much for it. Nakamura has the Money in the Bank on his radar, and he takes out some anxious energy out on the man, leaving him sprawled out on the mat after landing a kinshasa, floating over with a bizarre kind of fluid grace to pin Trent.

After Lowki defeats EVIL with the Warrior's Way, Roman Reigns, Big Show, Enzo Amore and Bobby Lashley come out for an elimination tag match, Enzo not looking too thrilled at being in the middle of these three men- although he and Big Show got along ok in that tag match, he's still not thrilled, especially since they're on opposite teams right now. "Hey, big guy, you and me, we're cool, right?" he yells across at Big Show, relieved when Big Show nods, a dark, solemn look on his face. It doesn't matter, though, because he ends up in the ring against Roman Reigns and Reigns has no such obligation towards him, Enzo trying to hit out at the man and missing almost every hit... just to land a lucky punch against Roman's jaw, eyes widening when Reigns turns to stare at him, his mouth working angrily. The spear that follows nearly takes Enzo out of his sneakers, and the Superman punch that follows ends it for him, Big Show pacing unhappily on the apron as Enzo rolls out, Lashley coming out.

Roman tags out and Big Show faces off with Lashley, eyeing him in distaste. Despite Big Show towering over him, Lashley has youth and agility on his side and he manages to hit suplexes and spears and leaves Big Show down, unable to get much of anything going offense wise before he finds himself eliminated. Roman volleys, even gets some solid strikes against Lashley, but his first and last mistake was going for a spear- Lashley meets him halfway, most of the damage crushing against Roman's chest and leaving him struggling for breath as Lashley hoists him up and lands a german suplex, leaving him prone on the mat long enough for the cover attempt, Lashley successfully holding him down just long enough for the three count.

After a lengthy back and forth battle that leaves the crowd on the edges of their seats, Prince Puma defeats Ishii with a 630 senton, lips curving into a kind of relieved smirk, pointing out at the crowd as if to say his victory is theirs before leaving the ring so it could be prepared for the main event of the night.

TJ Perkins comes out first, casting a quick glance around at the crowd before dabbing on the entrance ramp, smirking at the boos he receives in response to the dated move. He sits on the turnbuckle post, unbothered as AJ Styles' music hits and the man makes his way to ringside, posing on the apron before getting into the ring and raising an eyebrow at TJ, who barely glances in his direction. Once the introductions are made, he flips off of the post, landing on the mat before AJ and takes his hoodie off, dropping it into a tech's hands carelessly. AJ seems undisturbed by him, even when he dabs at AJ almost as soon as the bell rings. AJ feels him out, gripping him in a tie up in the middle of the ring, and TJ struggles to regain traction when AJ forces him back into the corner.

TJ huffs out a breath, trying not to remember how his match with Neville had gone, when he'd failed at winning the Cruiserweight title back after weeks of working towards that very thing. When AJ approaches again, he meets him with a slap that rocks even AJ, the sound of skin on skin echoing through the arena, and surprising everyone but TJ at its pure volume. He's tired of being overlooked, disrespected, and he plans on proving it here, now, as he meets AJ's next advance with a dropkick, gripping AJ's arm and twisting it behind his head in an attempt at a submission hold. AJ scrambles and quickly gets to the ropes, TJ releasing him as they stand a few feet apart, staring at each other. TJ thinks AJ _almost_ looks impressed. It's not enough.

He races forward, tries to take AJ down with his headscissors, but AJ grabs him and slams him down, forcing all of the wind out of TJ's body as he tries to writhe away from the pain, grabbing at his back. AJ doesn't let up, however, kicking him in the spine and then hoisting him up to put him into position for the phenomenal forearm. One thing he's not expecting, however, is that TJ's ready, despite how hard it is to suck in a breath, grabbing AJ out of thin air and holding him in a fireman's carry before slinging him over into the Detonation KIck, leaving AJ struggling on the mat while TJ grips at his knees, panting for oxygen himself. By the time he staggers over, he's taken too much time, AJ able to kick out at 2, but TJ is far from done, meeting AJ by planting the heel of his shoe right into AJ's face, kicking him down and snagging his leg, twisting him into a kneebar and wrenching back as hard as he can, listening as AJ cries out in pain behind him, the twerk of his knee just so wrong, no joint logically able to bend that way without causing some damage and a lot of pain.

But AJ isn't one of the absolute best in the world without nothing to show for it, arching up and crawling painstakingly towards the bottom rope, puzzling TJ when he finally touches it, forcing the move to be broken. TJ only takes a moment to digest this before lunging up, back on the offensive and kicking every inch of AJ that he can reach, focusing the bulk of his attack on his already weakened knee. AJ tries to fight out but it's like something has snapped in TJ and the only thing keeping him from completely ignoring the referee is that he's sick of losing, sick of being on the mat, getting pinned or submitted. TJ grabs AJ by the hair and tugs him up, staring into his eyes. "This is over, " he snaps, giving AJ one last kick to the kneecap before hoisting him up and landing another solid detonation kick, shifting into another kneebar and wrenching back with all of his strength until AJ, unable to move and in too much pain to even consider it, gives in. Taps.

As soon as the ref's words break through TJ's single minded focus, he drops him, raising his eyes successfully. He might have a long way back to the top of the Cruiserweight division, but, he thinks, toeing at AJ's motionless form, _this as good a start as any._


	81. chapter 81

Shane is busy this week, but he shows up long enough to ensure that everything's running smoothly, placing the techs back stage in charge of everything else. Between Money in the Bank and Smackdown, he has too much going on to hang out, and he can't wait for Daniel to return this Tuesday to take some of the pressure off of his shoulders, so he can breathe a little easier.

The first match pits Goto against Tyler Breeze, Breeze getting beat down for a good while until he somehow manages to recover and hit the Beauty Shot, defeating Goto to the surprise of the crowd. Mack and Christopher Daniels walks out the victor of a tag team match against Pentagon Dark and Raymond Rowe after Daniels takes Pentagon Dark out with a moonsault, leaving Mack open to slam Rowe face first into the mat, leaving him winded long enough for the three count. Taking advantage of both Tanahashi's injuries and his own motivation following winning Money in the Bank, Baron Corbin defeats him with a Deep Six that leaves Tanahashi crying out in pain, his shoulders obviously in agony as Corbin applies pressure to keep him down.

Sami Zayn, beat up from the ladder match on Sunday, fights as hard as he can, but Silas Young, fresh off of a victory against Jay Lethal has all of the confidence in the world, and defeats Sami before he can really get much momentum going, leaving him dazed on the mat as he celebrates the win.

The next match is a Beat the Clock match pitting Sasha against Naomi. They fight back and forth, exchanging blows and kicks for awhile until Naomi tries to land a Rear View that Sasha dives away from, leaping back into it and landing a knee to Naomi's chest, winding her long enough to draw her over to the corner, where she proceeds to batter her until she has Naomi weakened enough to sprawl her over the turnbuckle, landing her knees to Naomi's midsection and sending her down to the mat with a painful thud. One Bank Statement later and it's over, Naomi tapping desperately at 3:29.

The next contest is a handicapped match, pitting Josh Mathews against Heath Slater and Rhyno. Rhyno laughs at the commentator's nervousness, Heath adjusting his wrist tape as he walks forward to start the match. He and Josh circle for awhile, feeling each other out with more patience than Rhyno would ever show before Josh tries to sneak an attack in, Heath grabbing him just in time and slinging him over, twisting his arm around in a painful angle. Josh cries out, writhes, and tries to kick at the ropes, at the referee, anything he thinks might save him, but nothing's enough. He slumps into Heath's hold and grits his teeth, finally landing an elbow against Heath's face, repeating the action until Heath pushes him away with his feet, rubbing at his bruised cheek. "What the hell, man-" he yells, just to get a punch to the face for his trouble. He rocks back a few steps before lunging back at Josh, landing punch after punch, his old golden glove training coming back to him naturally, each shot sending Josh's head back brutally.

After a few strikes, Josh collapses and Heath tags Rhyno in, motioning over his shoulder at the downed man. "Finish it," he says with some viciousness in his gaze that makes Rhyno smirk, liking this side to his partner.

"As you wish," he says with a smug flourish, getting into the ring and standing patiently in the corner, urging Josh to rise with an impatient jerk of his hand. Finally Josh is up, wavering on his feet, and Rhyno races forward, landing a solid gore on the man, nearly sending him inside out before twisting him up for a pin. Heath looks pleased as he re-enters the ring, hugging his tag partner enthusiastically while they watch the recap, clapping Rhyno on the shoulder.

During a six man match that pits Shibata, Kofi Kingston and Apollo Crews against Zack Ryder, Bad Luck Fale and Elias Samson, Zack almost has the win after a Rough Ryder against Apollo, just for Elias to tag himself in and steal the pin- and the point from the round, Zack glowering at him as he leaves the ring, all but ignoring his partners and opponents alike.

In the second Beat the Clock match of the night, Mickie James faces off with Charlotte, ignoring the scattered _woos_ around the arena as she tries to keep up with Charlotte's offense, landing a kick that gives her some breathing space, attempting to land a Thez press, just to get sent face first into the turnbuckle. She hovers there, unable to properly breathe in throught he pain, when Charlotte hoists her off from the post and slams her backwards, laughing at the bonerattling impact that washes through both of them. Once both women are up, Charlotte hits Natural Selection, Mickie still breathless but somehow finding the energy to kick out, Charlotte trying to get some more offense in just to get spun away, Mickie holding onto the top rope as she struggles to take in a deep breath. Before either of them could do anything, the bell rings to announce that the time had won out, neither women successful at beating Sasha's time.

Cedric Alexander fights Big E, the two men struggling to keep the upperhand on each other, Cedric's speed and agility keeping him one step ahead of Big E's strength and innovation. The crowd buzzes when Cedric defeats one third of the tag team champions, his eyes lighting up as his winning streak after returning from his injury continues on and on.

Next up is a six man elimination tag match, Beer City Bruiser and Luke Gallows vs Punishment Martinez and Ricochet vs Taguchi and Matt Taven. It's a fast, rough match, that sees them all drop like flies, Punishment Martinez eliminating Beer City Bruiser first, Matt Taven quickly falling to his offense as well. Ricochet eventually tags in and he holds his own against the remaining men, even eliminating Taguchi with a hurricarana. Unfortunately for him, he's caught by Luke Gallows' boot to the face and is eliminated before he can even blink fully awake. Martinez and Gallows are the only ones left now, staring at each other before immediately brawling, Gallows not disturbed by Martinez' strength. Eventually, he succeeds in pushing Martiniez up and over, sneering down at him as the winner is announced- him.

It leaves the crowd in shock next but, after a lot of annoying nonsense that doesn't really go anywhere, Mahabali Shera's frustration takes over and he lands solid kicks that eventually staggers a still Nakamura healing, his back and shoulders showing the affects of what Corbin had done to him with ladders and a camera on Sunday, sending him down onto the mat. The Sky HIgh that follows, Shera hoisting him up like he's nothing, started and disgusts him. Shera laughs, dazed at making Nakamura's poor week so much worse in such a little amount of time.

Hanson is a tough customer. Jinder Mahal learns that quickly when he's in the ring with the man, quickly growing disinterested in risking his title reign on _this_. So, with the Singh brothers watching to make sure that Hanson doesn't try to stop him, Jinder rolls out of the ring and walks resolutely up the ramp, title in hand. As soon as he's counted out, the points awarded to Hanson, Jinder sneers. Hold the title belt up high.

In the third and final Beat the Clock match, Dana and Carmella go back and forth, James cheering on his Home Girl from the outside, all of them checking the timer out here and there, hoping that one of the girls will win, will defeat Sasha's time, but it's not to be. Carmella keeps trying for the Code of Silence, Dana using her size and strength to overwhelm Carmella each time, but finally she locks it in... just to realize there's barely seconds left on the clock. There's no time for anything else, however, the first ever Ms. Money in the Bank forced to watch as time runs out, taking her victory and points with it.

To wrap the night up nicely, Shane has scheduled a Battle Royal, pitting Texano, Sonjay Dutt, Karl Anderson, Braxton Sutter, Drago, Juice Robinson, Mojo Rawley, Vinnie Marseglia, AJ Styles, Takahashi, Xavier Woods, Kazuchika Okada, and Fandango against each other. It's always a fast moving match, proving it when Fandango is eliminated early by an impatient Vinnie, the member of the KIngdom leaning over to laugh monickingly at him. Texano eliminates AJ Styles next by simply sending him up and over the top rope while he's trying to think of who to target first, his thoughts quickly growing angry and annoyed as he realizes his time tonight is over. Drago goes next, Anderson trying to use his mask against him and following it up with a simple clothesline over the top to the mat below.

Mojo circles AJ next, not expecting a behind attack from Juice Robinson, who tilts him up and over before going after Texano, who makes him cringe = at the smallest touch. The dropkick that eventually sends Texano away makes Juice laugh roughly. Takahashi is eliminated bfore anyone could ufully enjoy all of the work he's put in for htis match, this night. Those of them remaining team up against Okada, landing as many hits as they can before they toss him out of the ring, Juice landing a solid knee to the side of the face, which auses Anderson to drop. Sonjay Dutt works quickly and slings Juice onto the top turnbuckle before pushing him off and eliminating him.

Alliances form quickly here and fall apart just as suddenly, Vinnie and Anderson trying to get along long enough to eliminate Dutt, but it doesn't work and they abruptly find themselves on the floor, gaping fruitlessly at the crowd as they point and laugh at their abrupt double eilmination. "Ohs hut up!" Vinnie yells, already storming for the ramp before another person could be cleared from the ring..

Sonjay clearly thinks he has it, is wondering why the referee hasn't called for the bell, or raised his hand in victory... when he feels a solid dropkick, right between his shoulder blades. No matter how strong it is, it's not enough. Dutt turns and grabs an approaching Xavier, almost slinging him over... just for Xavier to grip the ropes and flip back in when Dutt's turned his back on him. This proves to be his downfall as Xavier hops back in, getting his legs around Dutt's skull and pushing until Dutt can barely move, much less breathe. Xavier twists, pivots his hips until finally it's Dutt now wavering on the ring apron, all alone with no one to compete for him, everyone reflecting on how brutal this match has been, especially now with the body count down so severely.

Xavier doesn't wrestle as much as his other NEw Day brethern but he still has a good selection of offensive moves to attempt, so he does it. Feels Dutt's body move with his, allowing him to land the suplex perfectly. But he quickly tires of using Dutt as targetting practice, so when Dutt is telling when he's done wrong with the moves, his stance, how best to win a match, Xavier is relieved. Uses the distraction to grab Dutt, hoist him up in a fireman's carry, and makes his way to the ropes. The champion-to-be is scremaing, struggling to stay on... just for Xavier to kick him once in the head for good luck before releasing him over the top, everything freezing as they absorb the match, its end result, and everything else.

"Not the cleanest match I've ever had to compete in," he says with a quick rolls of her eyes. "But I'm pleased with the results." he's all but talking to himself, looking around the ring before lifting his arms out on either side of them, dabbing just to hear some of the audience member boo over this song.


	82. chapter 82

Another week, another set of shows to book. Shane wonders how long, exactly, his sister's vacation is going to last as he reads over the card for the week's Team Work. This was her brainchild, her baby, and he's kind of eager to hand it back over to her, so he can return to focusing on Smackdown with Daniel Bryan. He peeks into the locker room, seeing all of the different wrestlers from various rosters lingering in there, waiting to learn what they're doing for the evening, and exhales. _It is fun, though,_ he thinks, moving to put the list up for them.

The first match of the night is a mixed tag match. Pits Matt Hardy and Laurel Van Ness against Kevin Owens and ROH's Kris Wolfe. Matt and Laurel make an odd pairing, both with distinct mental issues, Owens and Kris only somewhat more feasible. Because of this, it's not that much of a surprise when, after Owens and Kris trade tags back and forth, the men trading for the women and vice versa, Matt succeeds at reversing Owens' pop-up powerbomb attempt into a twist of fate, spiking him awkwardly just long enough for a three count. Laurel seems equally pleased that her team won and annoyed that it wasn't _her_ victory, while Kris loitering anxiously behind Owens, clearly at a loss of what to do.

It's a roll up, of all the things, that ends Mahabali Shera facing off against Jay Lethal. Jay seems to have had the match in hand quite a few times but Shera continuously came back for more again and again, quickly frustrating Jay and leaving him vulnerable to Shera's determination to win at any means necessary. Sheamus teams up with Ultimo Guerrero against Chris Sabin and Kenny Omega, walking out the victor after batting away Omega's attempt at landing anything significant on him, turning and greeting Sabin with a solid Brogue Kick, downing him for the three count while Ultimo keeps Omega busy on the apron.

Next up in Finn Balor against Brent Tate, Finn pacing around Dalton's Boy curiously. He'd never seen him in the ring before, so he's intrigued. Even lets the younger man get the first bit of offense in, which is wildly swung fists that strike against Finn's upper body and abs and, although they sting a bit, not much damage is done. He waits until the younger man tires himself out before gripping his arm and running him into the ropes. Seeing no point in drawing it out too long, he greets him with a couple of punches of his own, downing him with an elbow to the face, before heading up to the top rope. Coup de Grace finishes it quickly and afterwards, Finn helps Brent up, eases him outside calmly to his twin, who'd run down as soon as the bell rang to signal the end.

In a match against Samoa Joe, Fenix deftly manages to avoid the Coquina Clutch and even walks out the victor after rushing up the turnbuckle and landing a corkscrew senton bomb, hooking his leg with enough force to keep him down for the three count, Joe looking shocked and apoplectic with anger afterwards. Jay White succeeds in a six man, winning out against Kushida, Nick Jackson, Takahashi, Cage and Marty the Moth. Kofi Kingston defeats ROH's Shaham Ali with the Boom Drop, and Cesaro holds his own in a triple threat against Kazarian and Cody, eventually defeating Kaz after Cody lands the American Nightmare on him and Cesaro knocks him clean out with an uppercut before he can go for hte pin.

Sumie Sakai defeats Sienna with a diving splash, and Naito pins Matt Jackson after taking Matt Sydal out during a ridiculous spot fest of a triple threat match. Leon St. Giovanni takes advantage of Tozawa's strange yells in the middle of the match to grab him and land a spinning torture rack slam, dazing him long enough for a pin. Next is a six man tag match that Nakamura eventually wins for his team against Alex Shelley, his kinsasha keeping him down while Jeff Hardy and Big E brawl with Jinder Mahal and Dalton Castle on the outside, all of them freezing as soon as the bell rings, mixed reactions coming from the four men as they look into the ring and realize whose music is playing to mark the victory.

Dalton doesn't go far as the next match pits Brandon against Lucha Underground's Pindar, his black and white checked gear almost enough to make even Dalton go cross eyed. Brandon looks nervous but as Dalton cups his face and talks confidently to him, he rallies. Pats Dalton's wrists and heads off to the ring, a new determination in his step. It's a hard fight, Pindar is bigger, taller. Can take and dish out more damage, leaving Brandon gasping for breath on the mat while Dalton paces outside, pounding against the apron and trying to get the crowd behind his Boy. Brandon keeps struggling, fighting, trying to land enough solid strikes on the mysterious competitor to get some momentum going. Dalton continues to encourage him from the outside and, as Pindar rushes towards him, Brandon lunges up and hits a dropkick that rocks Pindar backwards, giving the Boy the time to scramble up onto the top rope and splash down onto Pindar, covering him and doing the best he can to hold him down.

It doesn't work, however, Pindar kicking out with such force that he sends Brandon outside, the Boy landing with a thud before Dalton. Dalton kneels down and touches the Boy's shoulder, trying to comfort him, when he looks up in time to see Pindar about to dive down upon them. He pushes Brandon aside and lunges away, Pindar crashing hard onto the floor between them and then just laying there, motionless. Brandon gapes at Dalton before scrambling for his opponent, dragging him into the ring. Up the ropes he goes again, diving onto Pindar once more and this time, pinning him successfully. He sits there, dazed for a minute, before Dalton grabs him by the feet and pulls him out of the ring before Pindar could recover and get revenge, hoisting him up into a congratulatory hug, laughing at his lingering shock and amazement. "At least one of us won tonight!" he calls out to Brandon, grinning as he leads him back up the ramp, hand warm on the back of his neck.

The main event is a gauntlet match, Okada defeating first El Terrible quickly with a dropkick and then a rapid fire Rainmaker, and then Jonathan Gresham, who puts up a bit more of a fight but still falls relatively quickly to Okada once he's snagged and gets planted into the mat with a tombstone. His third and final opponent is Silas Young, the two of them staring at each other as Silas walks down to the ring, neither overly impressed with the other. It's a rough fight because Silas is unrelenting and brutal with his strikes, while Okada is still a little beat down from recent matches against the likes of Omega, Bad Luck Fale, and Shibata. He's fading quickly, even Gedo's attempts at encouraging him from the apron not enough to give him the strength to carry on through Silas' rough strikes and rigid throws, Okada gasping for breath after the second rolling fireman's carry slam that leaves him sprawled out under the rope, Gedo all but pleading with him to move, to respond, do _something._

He staggers to his feet, grabs Silas's wrist and tries, _tries_ to get a desperation Rainmaker off but Silas hits him hard, freeing himself, and Okada staggers, gripping his chest and struggling for breath when Silas lands a Cutter, just to go to the top rope and perform a handstand on the turnbuckle pad... before floating over and landing a moonsault that leaves Okada completely vulnerable to the pin and loss, Gedo quickly scrambling into the ring to check on the IWJP champion while Silas smugly celebrates overhead.


	83. chapter 83

Shane grimaces. Not only is it a holiday weekday, which means everyone's just a little tense and eager to go, watch fireworks and enjoy the warm summer night, there's been a ton of wrestling special events from TNA- Impact- GFW, whatever they're calling themselves for the next few months, and NJPW both so the locker rooms are cluttered and the card is large. He hopes that the matches are quick, not wanting to spend extra to rent the arena overtime. Either way, there's not much he can do about it so he pastes the long list of matches up on the wall and escapes back into his office before the crush of wrestlers around coming to see what they get to do knocks him over.

First match up is Carmella facing off against Sasha Banks. The first holder of the women's Money in the Bank and the #1 contender of the Raw belt stare at each other as James Ellsworth wanders the ring, yelling at the crowd as they boo him, boo Carmella, and toss insults at both of them for their underhanded ways. Sasha barely waits for the bell to ring before starting in on Carmella, James hopping to attention and cheering on his homegirl as she tries to fend off Sasha's kicks and knees enough to get some momentum going. Sasha's on fire though, especially after two weeks of victories against Nia Jax and Alexa Bliss, and Carmella can do nothing but try to defend and hope she tires herself out.

As Sasha goes to the top rope, James decides to take action and hops up, arguing with the referee until Sasha spots him and leaps back down, stepping around the referee. "Get down, little boy!" she yells at him, snapping her fingers impatiently at him. James huffs and steps up to her like he's about to do something when she slaps him- hard. He sputters and falls back, clutching his face, finally allowing her to get back into the match- just to get sneakers to the face as Carmella meets her with a dropkick, hastily twisting her into the Code of Silence. Sasha struggles, unsure how her advantage had so easily gotten taken away, but just as she gets close to the ropes, Carmella uses her long legs to reposition them, pulling Sasha away and re-enforcing the submission until Sasha has to tap or risk her title shot this Sunday.

James rolls into the ring and laughs at her, still rubbing his face gingerly, as he lifts Carmella's hand in victory, the briefcase rocking back and forth between them as they absorb the audience's genuine hate for them both.

Joseph Park holds his own against Mark Briscoe's redneck kungfu and walks out the winner, Takahashi defeats Curtis Axel, Juice Robinson retains his momentum from the NJPW specials over the weekend and succeeds in a triple threat against Miz and Hanson. Tanahashi proves his durability and prowess in wrestling by winning a gauntlet match, leaving Cody, Braxton Sutter and Sanada all laying. Following this, Allie walks out the winner in an Ultimate X against Rosemary, Alisha, Sienna and Taya after making the most of the first opportunity she sees as soon as Taya took out the most of them with a high risk dive out of the ring. Jimmy Uso's frustration holds him over in a handicapped match against Finn Balor and Marty Scurll, who can't get along long enough to get proper offense going against half of the Smackdown tag team champions, causing them to lose.

DeAngelo Williams takes out Sami Zayn, and Jeremy Borash eakes out a victory against Jay White, who's still feeling the physical exhaustion from the past weekend. Next up is an elimination tag match, pitting Ortiz and Bo Dallas against Tanahashi and Sonjay Dutt. Bo is eliminated quickly by Tanahashi, leaving Ortiz alone against both opponents, but he's not concerned, taking Dutt out as soon as he can, before facing off with Tanahashi. They exchange offense back and forth until Tanahashi goes for High Fly Flow, Ortiz recovering enough to get up and grab him, powerbombing him brutally into the mat and leaving him vulnerable for the pin and loss.

Moose decimates Kenny King, and Mil Muertes handles Ishii in similar fashion. No one in attendance is overly surprised... until Jey Uso and Alberto El Patron compete and Jey, fueled by whatever pushed his brother to succeed earlier, holds his own and even lands a splash on Alberto, twisting free before Alberto could sweep him into the armbar, landing a superkick that rattles Alberto even further and leaves him open to another splash, Jey getting a three count from it that leaves the crowd gaping. Swoggle's winning ways continue as well when he slips free from Jay Lethal's attempt at a Lethal Injection, crawling between his legs and getting up onto the top rope just to dive down and take Jay off of his feet, using all of his weight to keep the dazed man down for the three. Jushin Thunder Liger escapes the Elimination Chamber the victor after Kenny Omega, Titan, Tama Tonga, Rocky Romero and Kushida all get eliminated, Liger getting the deciding pin against Rocky after avoiding his agile kicks and strikes.

Following this is a battle royal, the ring quickly filling up with Seth Rollins, Jeff Hardy, Dragon Lee, David Finlay, James Storm, EVIL, Kazuchika Okada, Paul London, Matt Jackson, Mahabli Shera, Volador Jr, William Ospreay and Raymond Rowe. As soon as the bell rings, the fight begins, the men all struggling to eliminate their opponents. Okada is the only one out of them all who hang back, watching as the others swarm around, brawling and trying to throw each other up and over. The crowd gasps when Seth is the first thrown out, EVIL, Rowe, Storm and David Finlay all working together to ensure he's gone before the match has really even picked up. Karma is always lurking, however, and EVIL is the next to go when Rowe and Storm turn on him and throw him out shortly afterwards.

Rowe turns into a fight with Jeff Hardy, who greets him with a dropkick to the chest, then before he can recover, whips him into the ropes and blasts him with solid strikes before taking off at a run, lunging into him and sending him over the top with a clothesline while he's wavering. Before Rowe could course correct enough to get off of the apron and back into the ring, Okada, who is nearest outside of Jeff himself, lands a solid Rainmaker over the ropes that sends him toppling over and out. Jeff grants him a quick nod before wading back in while Okada watches on, bored. David Finlay, Shera, and Matt Jackson are all eliminated in rapid fashion before Okada finally decides to involve himself in the match. He's just eliminated James Storm when Ospreay comes out of nowhere, grabs him and throws him out, Okada's eyes widening as he grips the ropes and tries to get back in... just to receive a dropkick that slacks his grip and leaves him vulnerable to Dragon Lee's enziguiri, Okada huffing as he hits the mat below and finds himself eliminated.

He rolls away just in time to avoid Paul London getting eliminated and landing almost on top of him, Dragon Lee the next to go. Jeff Hardy is fighting inside the ring against William Ospreay, Volador Jr watching on in interest until Jeff gets shouldered up and over, Ospreay landing blow after blow until Jeff is wavering, his grip tenuous at best. Okada leaves as Jeff finally gets eliminated after Ospreay strikes him hard enough to daze him, following it up with a knee to the chest that topples him the rest of the way. Ospreay stands there, as if having forgotten about Volador when he suddenly side steps and sends the sneaking man over the ropes, watching nonchalantly as he falls to the mat below and takes the final elimination, Ospreay winning the entire thing.

EC3 defeats Beretta easily, despite the obvious pain he's still feeling from his match against James Storm, and Santana continues LAX's winning ways by beating Jay Briscoe. NIck Jackson successfully beats Eddie Edwards, and Eli Drake gets the win over Tonga Roa. Matt Hardy gets the W over Bushi, and Chris Adonis teams with Zack Sabre Jr against Jeremiah Crane and Matt Sydal, eventually getting the win by snagging Sydal into the Adonis Lock and holding it in until he passes out.

Neville scowls as he walks down the ramp, adjusting his title belt almost obsessively over his shoulder. His opponent is Bad Luck Fale and they stare at each other as he enters the ring, Neville seeming unimpressed with his size even after so many months of wrestling smaller guys in the Cruiserweight Division. He hands over his title and, as soon as the bell rings, begins running circles around Fale, careful to avoid his stronger moves but trying to land as many kicks and quick strikes as he can to get him off of his feet. Fale swats some away, absorbs the rest, and eventually gets his hands on Neville, hoisting him and glaring at him as he prepares to slam him down... just to get a knee to the face for his troubles, his grip faltering. Neville lands repeated strikes with his boot and Fale drops him, Neville quickly recovering and moving to the top rope to try to finish this match... just for Fale to snag him out of thin air and slamming him down onto the mat, Neville writhing away and grabbing his back.

He grits his teeth against the pain, however, fighting free when Fale moves to grab him again, landing a dropkick that sends fresh agony up his spine but sends Fale toppling over and gaining him distance needed to catch his breath as he tries again for the top rope. This time he succeeds and lands the Red Arrow on Fale, scrabbling for a pin just to close his eyes in relief when the ref counts to three, Neville rolling out of the ring and hugging his title belt to his chest as he snarls at Fale from the ramp, struggling to his feet to lift his hand in victory before staggering up the ramp.


	84. chapter 84

Shane shuffles through papers, sipping deeply from his mug, smirking to himself. He's back after taking a bit of a break, eager to get back into things, see what Angle's been up to. Make matches, push the cycle forward until Summerslam, when the winner will be announced. He hopes he's here for it, that his sister can wait just a little longer for him to see it through.

The first match of the night pits Sonjay Dutt against Prince Puma, the two men leaving the audience on the edge of their seats as they fight brutally, trading off mat-offense for high risk moves from the ropes, the top of the turnbuckle, anywhere they can think of to use to propel themselves off of. No one is more surprised than Puma himself when Sonjay walks out the victor after hitting a 450 splash while Puma is still recovering from his own missed 630 Senton.

The next match is an Ultimate X match, Chris Sabin walking out with the bright red X, leaving Eddie Edwards, Sheamus, Cedric Alexander, Dezmond Xavier and Wilcox watching on in disgust and anger from various places in and around the ring. The first round of Beat the Clock matches sees Son of Havoc defeat Finn Balor within 4:29.

Sasha Banks and Sienna face off next, the women exchanging brutal blows and knees, each struggling for the advantage, Sienna suplexing her and trying to lock in a guillotine choke just for Sasha to knee her in the head, squirming free and battling her into the corner before she can get some more offense in, hoisting her up and sprawling her out over the second rope, dropping down knees first onto Sienna's midsection, winding her. All it takes from there is a Bank Statement to make Sienna tap, Sasha raising her arms in victory as she struts back up the ramp, her momentum at an all time high lately.

Next up pits Miz against AJ Styles, the Miztourage around the ring to watch the two champions face off. Miz isn't bothered by AJ's easy confidence after winning the US title over the weekend, quirking an eyebrow at him. He meets AJ's advance with a swinging fist, ducking when AJ tries to repay him in kind, the two of them circling each other, warming up to the match before them before AJ kicks him hard in the thigh, Mike nearly dropping from the pain stabbing up his leg. He grabs AJ before he can approach again, slamming him back into the turnbuckle to grant him some breathing time. Mike limps back, rubbing angrily at his leg, before slinging forward to hit AJ with a forearm- just for AJ to move aside, Mike landing harshly against the turnbuckle. AJ then lands a dropkick while Mike's laid out, vulnerable to all offense while tangled in the ropes like that.

He drops back onto the mat with some help from the ref, but when he staggers up, he's met with a pele kick, finding himself down on the mat once more, AJ trying to lock in the figure four. Mike recognizes the twist and shift of the move and quickly kicks out, landing a solid blow to AJ's arm, his side, his chest, before scrambling to his feet and grabbing the ropes, kicking AJ in the face as he approaches again. Mike grabs him as he staggers, landing the back breaker neck breaker combo he's known for, seamlessly shifting into the Skullcrushing finale and pinning him, gasping for breath as he rolls out of the ring into Maryse's arm, Bo and Axel helping to take some of his weight and get him up the ramp before AJ can regroup and try to get some revenge for the loss.

Seth Rollins comes to the ring next, facing off against Dante Fox as he stares down at him from the top rope. The two men are quick, risky, brazen. The crowd can barely tell where the next piece of offense is coming from next, Dante landing a brutal knee against Seth's face just to get a solid elbow to the face in repayment. Seth catches Dante and plants him in the mat when he tries to sneak in a twisting dive from the top rope, then grips his wrist and draws him in, leaping up in time to knee him brutally in the face, downing him immediately. The pin is all but a foregone conclusion after this, Seth staring out at the crowd from the top rope as he celebrates his win.

In the second Beat the Clock challenge, Brock Lesnar all but laughs, Paul Heyman also smirking, as he sizes up Brent Tate, undisturbed by facing off with one third of ROH's new six man tag champions. He even lets the Boy have the first shot, barely even reacting to the punches that graze his brow, or the dropkick that Brent tries. It's when Brent goes up top that Brock catches him and F-5s him smooth as anything, finising the match in 0:49. The first time in perhaps ever that a match had ended in less than a minute. Lesnar immediately forgets Brent, Heyman watching coolly as Dalton Castle, flanked by Brandon, walks down the ramp and scoops his Boy up, glaring into the ring at them before heading backstage, whispering comfortingly to Brent as he struggles to catch his breath through the pain.

Next up is an elimination tag match, Braun Strowman looking unimpressed as he's partnered up with Bray Wyatt against Mayweather and Brandon Tate. The former Wyatt family members stare at each other, Braun gritting his teeth against his injuries, before climbing out of the ring and dropping down to the floor, walking up to the ramp. Bray watches on, trying to yell at him to come back, but his words, his presence are nothing to Braun right now. Braun gets eliminated via count out when it's clear he's not returning, and Bray narrows his eyes at the two men before him. Wilcox seems undisturbed, Brandon a little leery as they tag in and out, Bray overwhelming both of them with his anger, Brandon's dropkicks and attempts at highflying attacks doing very little against him. Wilcox has a little more luck against him, but even he gets caught in sister abigail eventually, Bray pinning him while staring pointedly at Brandon, who swallows hard.

His luck, however, changes when Wilcox, before leaving the ring, grabs Bray and spikes him with a spinebuster, leaving Bray staring up at the lights, dazed. As Wilcox leaves, Brandon climbs the ropes and mutters what looks like a prayer before diving, landing heavily upon Bray's body and quickly scrambling for his legs, pinning him as best as he can, considering the differences in their sizes. He's not sure how it works, but it does, Bray pinned under him for the three count. Brandon cries out in happiness before quickly rolling out of the ring, not so stupid that he would stay within hand's reach of Bray's bitter rage at both Braun's snub and this loss. Dalton and Brent meet him on the entrance ramp and he leaps into Dalton's arms, laughing happily as he's carried out of the arena.

Matt Taven watches lazily, stretching out in the corner, while Heath Slater comes out for their match. "Hey, Slater," he calls out. "Know what to do during a match that's not going to be cut away for backstage drama?"

Heath rolls his eyes at him, adjusts his wrist tape, and immediately falls into a lock up with Taven in the middle of the ring, quickly swept off of his feet as Matt kicks at his ankles and sends him down hard. He regroups quickly and tries again, just to be met by a solid knee to the face, wavering back and forth. Rhyno is nearby, he can hear him pounding against the mat in support, but TK O'Ryan and Vinnie Marseglia are around too, yelling insults at him, and it eats at him. He tries to finish it quickly, hitting Matt with as many solid strikes as he can, but Taven is prepared, snags him and sends him diving out of the ring, leaving him vulnerable to TK and Vinnie while Taven keeps the referee busy on the other side, pointing over dramatically at Rhyno like he's actually trying to do anything other than go help his partner. For this reason, when Heath is thrown back into the ring by Taven himself, he can't regroup, Taven quickly putting him out with a headlock driver, pinning Heath as loose as breathing, barely bothering to hook a leg as he smirks out at the crowd.

Naomi defeats Bayley, and Alex Shelley defeats Cass by DQ when the larger competitor's anger over the crowd still chanting for Enzo overwhelms him and leaves him demolishing the tag team competitor in the corner, digging his knee into his face and punching him brutally until there's no way for Alex to defend himself or try to fight back, the ref finally having no choice when Cass won't comply to the five count. In the final Beat the Clock challenge of the night, Matt Sydal and Cesaro both try to beat the time, but there's just no way to sap the other's energy sufficiently in less than 50 seconds, and sure enough, time runs out just after Cesaro hits his first uppercut on Sydal, the bell ringing and leaving them glaring at each other, wanting to continue the fight but aware there's no reason to. "Next time," Cesaro yells at him, a promise that Sydal nods eagerly at.

The main event is a triple threat match. Neville vs Dalton Castle vs Grado. Neville looks unimpressed with both of his opponents, leaning against the ropes and watching coldly as first Dalton makes his way down, both Boys absent thanks to their earlier matches, but he prances and does as much as he can to get the crowd behind him before Grado dances to the ring, Neville's face darkening even more. The bell has barely rung when he's off, booting Grado hard in the face. Dalton quirks an eyebrow, watching as Neville slings him straight over the top rope, Grado landing hard against the barricade wall before slumping there, officially out of the match as far as either of them are concerned. Neither man gives up an inch once they meet in the middle of the ring. Dalton uses as many forearms as he can manage, trying to get ahold of the Cruiserweight champion for either suplexes or, if he can line it up right, the Bang-a-rang, Neville responding with kicks and brutal chops to the chest that doubles Dalton over, gripping at his midsection as he gasps for air.

Neville's offense is crisp, brutal, and Dalton quickly brushes away the more showy bits of his moves, meeting Neville with a boot that nearly causes him to get tangled in the ropes. He snarls and lunges at Dalton, just to get met with a solid chopblock that leaves him staggering back, Dalton gripping him around the waist and getting into position to suplex him. He lands hard, gasping for air, but before he can do anything, Dalton is flying down upon him with a headbutt that makes him see stars. He grabs Neville, pulling him, gripping his wrist tight enough to set up for the Bang-a-Rang, but Neville twists and hits him with an elbow, Dalton staggers and lets him go, Neville putting space between them by running the ropes, using the extra speed to lunge forward and land a leg lariat on Dalton, sending him down hard to the mat.

He paces, a menacing look on his face, waiting until Dalton sits up waveringly, landing a solid kick to his back and making him arch away before wrapping his arms around his waist and locking his fingers, snap suplexing him back briskly. He flows over into the Rings of Saturn and tugs back as harshly as he can on Dalton's upper body, eyes widening angrily as he applies more and more pressure, growling into Dalton's ear as he struggles to inch towards the bottom rope until finally, finally, he realizes that he doesn't have enough strength to get the rest of the way, and taps, not wanting to risk injury so early into his and the Boys' title reign.

Neville immediately kicks him away and stands, arms outstretched in victory as he takes in the crowd's disdain with a smug sort of laugh. He grabs his title belt angrily from the referee and poses with it on the top rope, ignoring the bustling behind him as Brandon comes down and eases Dalton out of the ring, Brent still in too much pain in the back to come out to help as well. "Three," Neville snaps. "I will win my third cycle in no time at this rate, and add even more to my reign." This promise made to himself and to the crowd, he hops back down from the turnbuckles and walks towards the ramp, eager to get out of the crowd's presence.


	85. chapter 85

Shane leans back with a sigh, looking down at the piles of paperwork he's dealing with between Team Work _and_ Smackdown. At least with Ellsworth off of Tuesday nights for now, Smackdown's been a bit more quiet and peaceful, but still. He's starting to think his sister has officially dumped her show on him permanently, and as much fun as it is sometimes, he misses the days when he just had to do random things here and there for Smackdown, mostly just trusting in Daniel and his opinions. Either way, it's another card in the bag now so he sits back and prepares to watch as the matches progress.

First match of the night pits Alberto El Patron, Bobby Lashley and Bray Wyatt vs Cedric Alexander, Akira Tozawa and Fenix. It looks like the larger men have it won early, Lashley and Alberto putting aside their disdain for each other to properly tag in and out with each other and with Bray to keep beating Tozawa or Fenix down, but eventually Tozawa kicks out, beats Bray back with solid strikes and knees until he's able to scramble over, tag in Cedric, who finishes Bray with a lumbar check while Fenix and Tozawa struggle to keep Lashley and Alberto busy long enough for Cedric to get the pin, which is somehow successful. The three men raise each other's arms in victory while Lashley and Alberto shout at each other on the outside, nearly coming to blows before they decide to take their drama backstage.

JInder Mahal beats Matt Jackson when his risky highflying offense works against him, leaving him vulnerable to the Khallas as he misses a dive and knocks himself loopy.

John Cena comes out next, trying to look cool, calm, and collected, but there's an edge beneath his energy and everyone understands why when his opponent appears- Mil Muertes, with Katrina by his side in dark, twisted clothes. She nods at him, hoisting the rock that gives him strength and longevity high above her head, and he walks determinedly to the ring. The match is brutal, Cena fighting with everything he has and still finding himself just a little lacking in comparison to Mil, whose brutality is on a different level than anything Cena's seen before in his lengthy WWE career. He shoulder checks him at some point, just trying to put some distance between them to catch his breath, but Mil quickly revives, grips Cena and slams him up and over, dazing him further. Cena stumbles to his feet just to be caught by a spear, landing hard in the ropes while Mil sneers down at him, pulling him to the middle of the ring once more and hoisting him bodily to his feet, spike piledriving him to the mat once more. This only gets him a two count, however, and he snarls before kicking Cena harshly in the side, lifting him once more and trying to DDT him just for Cena to squirm out and lifting Mil up into a fireman's carry position, the crowd freaking out at the thought of Cena hitting the AA on one of Lucha Underground's most feared competitors.

But Mil rallies and lands back on his feet, gripping Cena around the throat and dragging him to the ropes, where he climbs painstakingly and lands backwards, superplexing Cena onto the mat and then rolling over, pinning him with an arm pressed against his windpipe while the ref's out of sight to get the count. He stands up and stares at Katrina as she enters the ring, hovering over Cena, before gripping his head harshly and hoisting him up, teasing the lick of death... just to slam his head back against the mat and standing back up, lifting the rock high above her head in victory.

Kushida walks out the victor of an Elimination Chamber after Punishment Martinez takes out both Karl Anderson and Joey Diesel early on, just to get eliminated himself after Kushida and ACH work together long enough to weaken him, leaving him vulnerable to Hangman Page's Rite of Passage and pin. ACH is the next to be eliminated when Page gets his hands on him as well, spiking him into the mat almost as brutally as Martinez, if not worse, but Kushida is ready for him, meets him early on with equal offense, and eventually gets the upperhand, landing a corkscrew moonsault as soon as he's downed Page with a buzzsaw kick.

Next is a triple threat match pitting AJ Styles against Luke Gallows against Xavier Woods and, although Xavier fights with everything he's got, Gallows quickly throws him out of the ring and he struggles to recover on the outside while AJ and Luke brawl with everything they've got on the inside, AJ struggling to land anything overly significant on his former teammate. His desperation works against him, however, when Luke interrupts his set up for a phenomenal forearm and strikes him with a lariat that leaves AJ wavering on the apron, just to get booted clean off of it. Xavier scrambles in then, but he's met with a hand around his throat, Gallows lifting him up and chokebombing him down like he's nothing before pinning him.

Finn Balor defeats Trevor Lee, and Laurel Van Ness takes out Tamina, despite Lana's weak attempts at assisting her new friend, trying desperately not to gain the referee's ire while doing so. Bayley walks out the winner of a triple threat against Natalya and Sasha, and then it's time for the main event.

A limited Battle Royal, Nick Jackson, Cheeseburger, Goldust, Octagoncito and Jeremiah Crane hovering in various parts of the ring until the bell goes off to inform them the match has begun. Jeremiah and Goldust immediately go after Cheeseburger, Octagoncito and Nick opting to leave them to it and facing off in the middle of the ring, trying to gain the upperhand. They're still going back and forth, neither hitting a really substantial strike, when the ring announcer declares Jeremiah Crane the first eliminated. They ogle over at the others and finds Cheeseburger somehow still holding on, Goldust fighting to get him over the top rope.

The distraction gives Nick the time he needs and he kicks Octagoncito hard in the face, catching him with a knee when he tries to rebound. He leans over just enough, gets a shoulder under Octagoncito and hoists him up and over the top ropes, landing a lariat that sends him the rest of the way to the floor. Nick's just turned to get involved in getting Cheeseburger eliminated when he ducks a forearm from Goldust and sends him teetering by the ropes. Nick rolls his eyes and rushes forward, hoisting Goldust up and eliminating him as well. Goldust looks like he's about to lunge in and murder Nick but referees push him back, push him out, so Nick turns his attention back to Cheeseburger, sneering. "Well, kid, this is your unlucky day-"

But Cheeseburger has always had a stupid amount of fight in him, no matter how vast the size difference might be, and he meets Nick with a dropkick, sending him back only a couple of steps before trying again. Nick is as fresh as he can be, pretty much, but Cheeseburger is already winded, weak. His kicks barely have oomph and the more often he jumps, the lower he flies until Nick grabs him out of midair and slams him backwards, listening as Cheeseburger cries out in pain and grabs at his back. NIck runs for the ropes, preparing to land a knee across Cheeseburger's face, when gravity shifts. The ropes tilt, taking him with them, and... he hits the floor unceremoniously, gaping at the lights above before scrambling up and over to find Goldust already half up the ramp, laughing mockingly at him as he waves.

Cheeseburger doesn't seem to fully process his victory, even when the referee lifts his arm up, gazing out at the crowd in confused amazement, catching his breath and finally realizing as life fills his eyes once more. "Yeah! I won!" he cheers, causing the crowd to erupt even louder in support for him.


	86. chapter 86

Shane's sore. A little shaken up. He imagines anyone would be after surviving an emergency water landing in a helicopter. It's nice to distract himself with booking both Team Work and Smackdown, and dealing with ironing out a new contract with one Chris Jericho. Once all of the paperwork is done, he allows himself to sit back. Relax and enjoy the show.

Aiden English walks out the winner in a triple threat match against Dante Fox and Kushida after sneaking in and tossing Fox out just to pin Kushida after he'd taken a decent amount of damage from the former military man.

Bayley and Becky wrestle a hardhitting match that causes the crowd to gasp a few times, before Becky tangles Bayley up after a failed bayley to belly suplex attempt, and locks in the disarmer, twisting back on her arm until Bayley has no choice but to tap. Next up is the first Beat the Clock challenge of the night, Natalya defeating Sienna in 3:49 after suplexing her into a bridging pin.

Kevin Owens is smug, confident after winning his US title back, maybe too confident because Laredo Kid holds his own against him, despite their size difference, and manages to squirm out of an attempt at a popup powerbomb, landing a headscissors takedown that leaves Kevin dazed and out of it long enough for his opponent to climb the rope and land a 630 Senton, defeating him.

Suzuki and Jack Gallagher wrestle to a draw for the second Beat the Clock match, neither man able to defeat Natalya's time set.

Next up is a tag match pitting Mustafa Ali and Jinder Mahal against Xavier Woods and Matt Sydal. Ali and Jinder can't get anything serious going, which leaves them vulnerable to Sydal and Xavier, who get along much better, their styles meshing well also. Jinder eventually begins to ignore Mustafa, attempting to handle the match on his own, which Ali takes exception to and eventually tags himself in... just to be taken out by Xavier's Shining Wizard and then planted into the mat by a DDT, leading into the pin and three count, JInder seemingly content to stay on the apron and watch as Ali takes the loss.

New Day's luck continues as Kofi Kingston defeats Octagoncito. Jimmy Uso and Drago compete in the third Beat the Clock match and Jimmy takes Drago out early with a superkick that grounds him, splashing onto him for the three count, defeating Natalya's time and setting it at 3:24. Sami Zayn defeats Dash Wilder with a Helluva kick, and the final Beat the Clock match leaves Jimmy Uso as the victor, neither Marty Scurll or Eli Drake able to defeat the other in time.

Prince Puma defeats Garza Jr easily, hitting a scoop slam piledriver and leaving him lifeless on the mat after the three count. The next match bits Scott Dawson against Baron Corbin and the crowd expects an easy victory for the current Money in the Bank holder, but they're wrong because within a few minutes of the two men brawling, Dawson hits a shinbreaker before sliding into the inverted figure four leglock, wrencing back until Baron has no choice but to tap, despite struggling to free himself, struggling to get to the bottom rope, doing everything possible he could think of. The audience's vague surprise continues when Mike Kanellis walks out victorous against Beer City Bruiser, the other man's size working against him as Mike dodges his attacks and avoids most of his punches before getting him up with some assistance from a nearby turnbuckle pad and hoists him onto his shoulders, landing a Samoan driver for the three count.

The main event causes some people to buzz. John Cena vs Ariya Daivari, who'd recently shown a bit of a mean side, wrecking anyone in his path. "I knew your brother," Cena yells across the ring in his condescending way before the bell rings and they begin. Ariya sneers at him, circling him, before gripping at his arms as Cena tries to lock up with him, get a feel for what the young man has to offer. Ariya fights back with everything he has every time Cena tries to overwhelm him, the two of them exchanging punches, Ariya striking out with knees and kicks until Cena is hesitant to approach without a game plan. He does muscle Ariya down once or twice, but Ariya fights free every time, rolling out of the ring, curling around the ropes, whatever necessary to make the referee get John off of him. It works, John's getting a little frazzled, a bit breathless, while Ariya is still fresh, ready to fight.

The crowd reacts vocally, some for, some against when Cena hoists Ariya up, in position for an Attitude Adjustment... but then Ariya squirms free, grabs Cena's wrist and twists him into a shortarm lariat, planting him into the mat. He scrambles to the top rope immediately and splashes Cena, twisting around and grabbing his arm, digging it into Cena's own throat as he closes his eyes and waits, digging back in as much as he can. Cena's breathing fades, grows more ragged as he tries to fight off the lariat and the splash, Ariya digging his heels in further every time Cena moves. FInally it works.

Cena passes out in Ariya's hold. The referee immediately calls it, the bell ringing as Ariya's name is announced as the winner. He laughs obnoxiously, raising his arm in victory while he surveys the crowd. "This cycle is mine!" he declares to all who will listen, thumping himself on the chest before rolling out of the ring to order all of his staff to throw the best, most lavish party for his success against Cena, against Neville, against everyone.


	87. chapter 87

Shane exhales after another Smackdown taping. Things move so quickly in WWE, and just in wrestling in general. Already finished one PPV and preparing for Summerslam. He hums to himself and taps his fingers against the arm of the couch he's currently sitting on, finalizing the night's card for Team Work. "Well, Stephanie," he mumbles, "I'm not sure what you're doing right now, but hopefully you're nice and comfortable while I do all of your work for you."

The first match of the night pits Kris Wolf against Bayley, the two women battling back and forth, struggling to get any sustainable kind of offense against the other before finally Kris lands a diving double knee drop, downing Bayley and leaving her too dazed to move while the pin is administered. Dean Ambrose wrestles Eli Drake and, although Eli fights as hard as he can, Dean's frustration from the on-going drama with Seth Rollins leads him to victory after a brutal reverse lariat that leaves Eli vulnerable for the Dirty Deeds.

A fatal four way match pitting Sami Zayn vs Big Cass vs Ishimori vs Dash Wilder is next. The four men lurk in their corners, all keeping an eye on Cass out of the corner of their eyes until the bell rings and they can begin. Ishimori has barely taken a step out of the corner when he receives a solid boot to the side of the head for his trouble, sending him clear out of the ring. Sami and Dash exchange one glance before altering their plan of attack and diving for Cass, trying to work together to take him out of competition long enough for them to breathe, or perhaps permanently. Which would've worked except for his impossibly lengthy limbs, Sami caught by one elbow and Dash caught by the other, both sent to their knees before Cass slings them both into the corner and dives upon them. More elbows, more boots, until finally both men are downed. Dash tries to recover, tries to get some sort of offense in, but he's downed before he can fully catch his balance and Cass drops an Empire Elbow on Sami, pinning him.

Chris Adonis faces off with Shinsuke Nakamura and, although the Artist of the WWE comes close to downing him a few times, landing solid kicks that against anyone else would probably lead into the Kinsasha, Adonis keeps the upperhand and eventually bats away another of his kicks, using the momentum to lock him into the Adonis Lock until all fight leaves Nakamura's body and he sags into unconsciousness, the referee having no choice but to call the match in favor of Adonis.

Ethan Carter III defeats Tye Dillinger in a quick match, landing a quick 1%er and defeating him before he can even get the crowd behind him with his 10 chants. Octagoncito finds himself teaming with Pentagon Dark against Rey Mysterio and Alberto El Patron, certain this isn't going to go well... but Mysterio and El Patron can't get along well, and Pentagon Dark takes over during the match, the two of them working together surprisingly well and defeating them after Pentagon lands a package piledriver on Rey, El Patron not caring enough to come in and make the save, costing his team the match.

In a wrestling first, the women compete in an Elimination Chamber match, Sienna, Jenny Rose, Charlotte and Nia starting off in the chambers while Karen Q and Becky face off to start the match. They fight back and forth, exchanging clotheslines and punches, Becky trying to keep Karen down for long enough to outlast the countdown to the next entrant, but then Karen lands a moonsault and tugs Becky into a Boston Crab, putting pressure on her spine and legs until she has no choice but to tap, rolling out of the chamber just as the timer shows and Sienna enters. They fight back and forth, neither able to get the upperhand until the clock runs down again and Nia enters, battering both women down. No more pins are accomplished with the three of them breaking up each attempt until Jenny Rose enters and Nia immediately flattens her, accomplishing the second elimination of the match.

Nia continues her dominance by eliminating Sienna next after a splash across her midsection, Karen Q landing another moonsault slightly awkwardly before Nia can fully get to her feet. Charlotte enters next and she and Karen fight while Nia fights to recover, the two women struggling to get the upperhand until Charlotte lands a kick to the side of Karen's head, the woman slumping to the mat below before grabbing Charlotte by the legs and trying to sweep them out from under her to get them to an even base. Charlotte all but laughs at her before forcing her back to her feet and suplexing her... just for Karen to stop the momentum and kneeing her in the head, landing back on her feet and striking her in the abdomen, leaving Charlotte gasping for air. Nia finally recovers and rushes forward, trying to smash both of them... just for Karen to step aside and let Charlotte eat all of it, crumbling against the turnbuckle. Karen then rolls Nia up, accomplishing a three count before grabbing Charlotte and tugging her back out into the middle of the ring, Charlotte regrouping enough to lock in the Figure Four but, before she can bridge into the Figure Eight, Karen kicks free, landing a solid stomp in Charlotte's waist, grabbing her legs and twisting her up into the Boston Crab, tugging her into the middle of the rope and pressing back with what strength she has left. Every time Charlotte tries to struggle forward, Karen pulls her back just enough to keep her away from the ropes... and finally Charlotte has to tap out, giving the victory to Karen.

Seth Rollins, Jason Jordan, Scott Dawson, Texano, Elias and AJ Styles all come to the ring next for a six man match. They eye each other warily as they prepare for the match, the bell finally ringing and starting the brawl. Jason goes after Dawson, Texano and Elias lock up, and AJ and Seth exchange punches and kicks, AJ eventually getting his hands on him and suplexing him away, turning to meet him with an enziguiri. Seth staggers away and they get distracted when Elias and Texano fight between them, Seth eventually grabbing Elias and AJ getting ahold of Texano, the four of them fighting to opposite sides of the ring. Dawson wrecks Jason with a few solid fists, fighting out of a suplex attempt, and the six of them continue to fight, Texano eventually taking AJ clear out of the ring and following him. The ring a little clearer now, Seth knees Elias in the face and tries to pin him just to get a solid kick from Dawson to the side of the face, rolling away and gripping at his head as Elias recovers slowly, just to get sent down to the mat thanks to Jason's new attempt at a suplex.

Dawson responds by grabbing him and landing a leg-hook Saitoh Suplex, leaving Jason gaping up at the lights overhead. Seth tries to stop his attempt at a pin but Elias grabs him and sends him out of the ring with a short clothesline, Seth responding by grabbing his feeta nd dragging him out to join AJ and Texano on the outside, trying to overwhelm the other. This gives Dawson the opportunity to land a shin breaker on Jason, suplexing him down once more and sweeping into a pin, claiming the victory.


	88. chapter 88

More and more keeps getting added to Shane's plate. Now he's the guest referee for the AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens rematch, which is fine, honestly, but with that and Team Work, and Smackdown, part of him almost hopes his sister would return already just to take some of the weight off of his shoulders. He sighs, tapping his pen against the desk as he finalizes the week's card, sending it off for the wrestlers to prepare for their matches.

The first match of the night is a mixed tag match, pitting Desmond Xavier and Noami against AJ Styles and Becky. It's to AJ and Becky's credit that they at least know each other, Xavier and Naomi are unknowns to each other and it shows as they barely can get on the same page, the match quickly tipping in Becky and AJ's favor- and staying there, until Naomi lands a solid hipcheck on Becky after she tags in again, AJ needing a breather after facing off with Desmond for a lengthy exchange. Becky is staggered further by repetitive kicks of Naomi's, and then loses completely when Naomi locks in a headscissors crucifix choke, Becky struggling but unable to free herself, Desmond entering and keeping AJ back just long enough for Becky to lose all fight and finally tap out, rubbing at her throat once Naomi releases her.

It's a fluke, everyone can tell it, Braxton Sutter misjudges his footing and slips on the top rope during the next match and lands so awkwardly that his feet plant under Rusev's jaw and leaves him teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, falling back heavily with the weight of Sutter directly on his chest, winding him and leaving completely unable to kick out in time to spare himself from this loss. Rusev sits up with a roar once he realizes what's happened, working through his brutal headache to grab at Sutter, who wisely runs for it before he can be grabbed.

Following this, Tozawa wins Ultimate X, laughing as he picks up more and more momentum leading into Summerslam, the bright red letter held over his head as Homicide, Jeff Hardy, Shinsuke Nakamura, Grado and Matt Hardy watch him leave from various areas around or in the ring, varying degrees of unhappiness on their faces at the loss.

Roman Reigns defeats Santana, and AIden English walks out victorious against Cedric Alexander. Mumbai Cat- clearly Sonjay Dutt again- defeats Prince Puma due to Puma being distracted by his ridiculous costume, and Rich Swann is successful against Ortiz.

The main event is a six man tag match pitting Cody, Suicide and Johnny Mundo against EC3, Seth Rollins and Fenix. The six of them pace around the ring, keeping an eye on each other until the bell rings. Seth and Fenix exit the ring, allowing Ethan to start off with Suicide. The masked man is easily overwhelmed by Ethan's vicious strength, leaving him floundering as he can't even get out of the gates with any kind of significant offense, Ethan landing body shots and hits to the face that make even his own teammates wince. Before too long, Suicide succeeds in escaping when Ethan bores of this and waves him off to tag in a real challenge, Cody slipping into the ring and the two men slowly feeling each other out before Cody claspses his hands around Ethan's waist and slams him backwards, Ethan quickly scrambling over to his corner and glaring at Cody before roughly tagging Seth in.

Seth scoffs at him, rubbing his chest, before entering the ring and raising an eyebrow at Cody, immediately falling into more brutal attempts at taking him down- knees to the chest and face, punches to the gut and elbows to the jaw- anything and everything he can attempt to get Cody down, keep him down. He gets a two count off of a suplex, grips Cody by the arm and forces him upright once more before wrenching his arm back, trying to pull it out of socket. Cody hisses and gets to the ropes, forcing a break as the referee intervenes and gives Cody time to get to the corner and tag Mundo in.

Johnny laughs at Seth, smug and cocky as he tosses his hair over his shoulder, immediately locking up with Seth. The two of them are at something of a stalemate for awhile, Seth unable to overwhelm him as he'd expected- before Johnny kicks him hard in his surgerically repaired knee, sending Seth down to the mat instinctively as he grabs at the slightly weaker joint, glaring up at his opponent. He recovers, however, and grabs John, forcing him down in a jawbreaker that rocks both of them, the top of Seth's head hurting about as much as John's face now. Fenix and even Ethan are yelling at Seth, but he ignores them, barely hears the crowd over the rushing in his ears as he grips Mundo, sends him into the ropes and tries to hit the knee to the face that's beaten a few people people easily by now... but Mundo seems to have scouted this move because he ducks it, he grips Seth and kicks him hard in the face before rolling him up.

Seth struggles, unable to get into position to push out of the pin- when Fenix runs in, breaks up the pin and saves the match for the three of them. Mundo does not look thrilled, kicking at Seth on his way back over to his corner to tag Cody back in. Meanwhile Seth gets up, shakes his head to wake himself back up, and tags Fenix in before getting back behind the ropes, gripping the tag rope for when or if he might be needed again, stretching his knee out carefully. Fenix is unperturbed by facing off with Cody, actually appearing eager to do so.

Except that Cody waves him off before they can even touch and tags Suicide in with no warning. The crowd boos this but nothing can be done for it, Suicide entering the ring and staring at Fenix. A match is a match so Fenix shrugs and changes his stance to figure out a gameplan against the different competitor. Suicide is fast, agile, and lands a few solid strikes with his elbow, his knee- even has Fenix down for a bit after meeting him with a dropkick, but Fenix is solid, and strong, especially after the last couple of years with Lucha Undergound, honing his skills with the best competitors- and the darkest monsters- in that temple, landing strike after strike until Suicide can barely stay on his feet, gasping for breath audibly through his mask. It's all but over after the Spanish Fly, Suicide all but unconscious, when Fenix finishes him off with the Fire Thunder Driver, pinning him so confidently that neither Cody or Mundo bother to save him, both content to watch from their corner as another point in this contest slips through their grasp, neither minding as long as it's not _them_ taking the damage.

Before the night ends, Shane comes out to address them all. "I would like to thank you all for accepting me so easily as the new general manager of Team Work. This was my sister's vision, but while she recovered, someone needed to take over. I'm unsure when, or if, she'll return, but I will continue taking care of it, and of Smackdown Live, for as long as I'm needed. Now I'm not just out here to show my graititude to you all. No, we have a little bit of business to handle. As most know, this cycle is ending after Summerslam. So you have two more weeks to get that coveted #1 spot." Shane listens to the crowd rumbling. "For now, it also means that the people with only one point, unfortunately, can't possibly win. So we'll be removing them from the contest, but they're welcome to compete in the next cycle of course. As for those remaining, good luck to you all and I will see you next week."

He leaves to the same music he'd come out in and the crowd buzzes about who they think might win the entire thing, who they hope to see in the next cycle that will lead up to Survivor Series.


	89. chapter 89

With Summerslam just around the corner and the cycle almost over, this week is a lot of people's final chance and it shows. There's a tension in the locker room that isn't usually there, everyone watchful and careful as they handle their business. The night starts off with Charlotte Flair defeating Sasha Banks after a hardhitting match that sees both women struggling to outdo the other, Charlotte finally taking advantage of a missed frog splash that sends Sasha down hard and locking in the Figure Eight, putting more strain on Sasha's midsection until she has no choice but to tap or risk her title opportunity at Summerslam. Charlotte laughs and poses, arms outstretched as she breathes in the victory, the response of the crowd.

Kongo Kong's speed isn't enough to keep Randy Orton down, the man quickly felled by an RKO out of nowhere. Jimmy Uso takes out Rhett Titus with a splash from the top rope, and El Hijo del Fantasma defeats Mil Muertes after fighting against his murderous intent, only just holding strong against him, against Katrina's influence.

Tozawa, fresh off of his win against Ariya, stands strong against Punishment Martinez, but it's not enough- the man is tall, and large, and overwhelms him, barely flinching against his attempted senton. It's all but over as soon as Tozawa is caught with a big boot, then the finish comes quickly after the sitout chokeslam that leaves him with stars dancing before his eyes, barely aware of being pinned until the bell rings and it's announced that Martinez is the victor.

Everyone thinks that Braun Strowman vs Ishimori will have a similar ending, but Braun is coming off of weeks of fights against Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Brock Lesnar, barely recovered from various injuries but still fighting through it. That, coupled with Ishimori's incredible list of moves, leads to his defeat after a handspring elbow drop that leads into a 450 splash, Braun barely able to shift an arm up _after_ the three count, much less during it. Ishimori wisely rushes for safety as Braun sits up, roaring at anyone within earshot.

Kenny King defeats Jason Jordan with a backbreaker into a DDT, laughing at him. "Where's your daddy to help you now, huh?!" he demands, slapping Jason a time or two before rolling out of the ring, all smugness and evil intentions. Sheamus is thrown into a handicapped match against Mala Suerte and Marufuji, eventually landing a brogue kick on Mala Suerte and achieving the victory. Likewise, Dean Ambrose upholds his own weeks of victories by holding his own throughout a chain of moves from and against Ortiz, taking him out abruptly with a Dirty Deeds and pinning him, punching his knuckles against his own face before sticking his tongue out and rolling out of the ring.

The next match is an Elimination Chamber, pitting Karl Anderson against Saltador, with Kushida, Luke Gallows, Jey Uso and Santana in the pods. Saltador, however, quickly escapes all attempts of offense against him and scrambles up the side of the chamber, out of reach of everyone and leaving Anderson with nothing to do but to stare at him incredulously until Kushida is released. The match picks up then, but Anderson is so annoyed at not being able to get his hands on the Rabbit Tribe member still hanging above them that he quickly takes Kushida out with a Rocket Kick, his diving neckbreaker enough to finish him off. Gallows is out next but the two men just shrug at each other, waiting until either their next opponent comes out or Saltador finally loses his grip... As soon as Santana is out, they move cohesively, eliminating him as quickly as he'd stepped forward with the Magic Killer, Gallows getting the pin this time.

Jey Uso is next in, immediately kicking Anderson into the chains and dazing him long enough for Jey to land a snapping enziguiri that leaves Gallows rocked until he follows up with a Samoan drop, pinning Gallows and leaving Anderson alone with him and Saltador still hanging towards the top of the cage. They brawl back and forth for awhile, exchanging blows and forearms, kicks and knees, until finally Anderson gets the upperhand, hitting a Gun Stun and taking Jey out for the three count. Anderson then looks up. "Ya know you're gonna have to come down at some point, or this match ain't ever gonna finish!"

Saltador tilts his head left to right. Then dives, landing a perfectly executed springboard elbow that leaves Anderson out on his feet, gaping forward dazedly before Saltador rolls him up and achieves the three count and the win.

Low Ki defeats Pentagon Dark, just escaping the angry man's attempt at breaking his arm afterwards, and Paul London continues the Rabbit Tribe's success by taking out Trevor Lee and pinning him during a triple threat match with Lashley.

The main event pits Carmella against Nia Jax, both her and James Ellsworth looking fearful as they make their way down the ramp, neither up for moondancing or much in the way of taunting their opponent for the evening. In fact it takes little more than a glare from Nia for James to quickly back away, hands held high in supplication while Carmella gets into the ring. Their size differences is striking, Carmella shaking her head, looking at James desperately. He looks as lost as she does, and all he can do is watch from then on as Nia manhandles her, throws her from one side of the ring to the next. Carmella rolls out eventually, landing at his feet, and he's trying to help her when Nia makes her way outside, watching them with disgust.

James is trying to wipe some sweat from Carmella's face when Nia grabs her by the hair, forcing her up and back into the ring. She then gets into James' space, causing him to scramble back and away, losing whatever courage he may have gained from the last few months with Carmella. Nia's met with a dropkick when she gets back into the ring, Carmella trying to rebound, and James does as well, pounding on the apron and trying to encourage her. Nia ignores this, sweeps Carmella right over, and tries to splash her, but James lunges in, grabs her feet and succeeds at tripping her... somewhat, the woman kicking him off and trying to go after Carmella again... just to get trapped in a drop toehold, Carmella then locking her into the code of silence, quickly draining her oxygen away from her with her leg wrapped desperately around her head, and tugging back with as much force as possible.

When Nia's struggles ease, when her eyes flutter shut, when her body slumps forward, is when Carmella feels like she can breathe again, the referee calling the match. James painfully rolls into the ring, grips her hand and raises it in victory... before they both dash to safety up the ramp, neither wanting to risk Nia's wrath. Once away from her, they laugh until James groans, Carmella's face crunching up in sympathy as she pats where Nia had kicked him in the chest to get him off of her.


	90. chapter 90

Shane is pleased. Summerslam went well and now, finally, it's time to finish off this cycle of Team Work. He stares at his notes. Exhales when he realizes, except for a week here or there that he'd taken off, he's officially run this whole cycle by himself. Smiles a little and ponders the next. "It's kind of fun," he muses, stacking his papers up and looking out into the hall where wrestlers from various federations are waiting for word on what to do. He walks out amongst them and looks around. "Excuse me," he calls out over the general noise. "I just want a moment of your time before the show begins."

When the majority of the focus is on him, he smiles. "This is the final week of this cycle. We begin all over again next week. Since most of you have been eliminated already, or can't win with the amount of points you have at the moment, I want to say thank you to all of you for coming to compete anyway. It means a lot. Now, here's the list of matches for the night." He walks between a lurking Neville and Pentagon Dark, tacking the sheet of paper up on the wall next to the curtain to walk out to the ring. "Have a great show, guys."

He ducks back into his office to wait for the first match as those competing surround the paper, murmuring amongst themselves.

The night starts off with the first Beat the Clock challenge, pitting Neville vs Brandon Tate. It's been a long week for Neville, between losing and then winning his title back within six days, so he underestimates Dalton's Boy. He laughs in his face as soon as the bell rings, smacking him carelessly, unaware of how badly he's angering him. Brandon revolleys quickly, however, slaps Neville's disrespectful hand away and slaps him back. Neville's jaw ticks before he lunges forward, standing face to face with the Boy. They stare at each other for a moment before Neville exhales, letting some of the tension out of his shoulders before rounding back and landing a kick that levels Brandon.

The only thing that ultimately saves Brandon is Neville is sleep deprived, hasn't been eating well, and he's all around a mess. So it's easy for the Boy to get back to his feet, land a strike that sends Neville back a few steps and then runs the ropes, impacting with Neville and sending him a few feet back. He shakes his head, tries to make a come back but Brandon catches him with a dropkick, scrambling to the top where he splashes down- right across Neville's ribs. Neville gasps and struggles to catch a full breath, Brandon barely getting a two count before Neville kicks out, gets back up, landing desperate, wild kicks and hits until the referee demands separation, Brandon staggering around on his feet.

It's when Neville races forward to grab him once more, each step measured and brisk, angry, that Brandon lands a last-ditch desperation move, cracking Neville's jaw on the top of his head. It hurts him, but does much worse damage to Neville, who lands hard and stares ahead, dazed through the pain. Brandon takes the ropes once more as soon as he shakes it off, landing a low dropkick that sends Neville onto his back. Another pin attempt and Brandon almost gets a three. Neville is still out of it so he rushes for the ropes once more and splashes down onto Neville a second time. He checks the clock, grimacing at the 6:39 on the timer, but he quickly forgets it when the referee's hand strikes the mat three times and he's won- beaten WWE's Cruiserweight champion!

He rolls out of the ring into Dalton and Brent's waiting arms as they come down to ringside to celebrate with him, Dalton's finger grazing down his cheek with a proud smile on his face. "I told you you could do it," Dalton laughs with delight, casually but determinedly gripping both Boys' arms and leading them away from ringside as Neville snarls, hanging over the ropes and grabbing at his Boys.

"Yes you did," Brandon says with a small smile, casting one last glance at his time. 6:45. He sighs. Not great, but at least he won.

Next up in a six man, Randy Orton, John Cena and Finn Balor face off against Jake Crist, Akira Tozawa and Jason Jordan. The three men gel very well, and after downing their opponents with the Coupe de Grace, Attitude Adjustment and an RKO, Orton claims the pin against Crist. The second Beat the Clock match of the night ends in a draw when neither Mickie James or Sienna are able to beat Brandon's set time. Sonjay Dutt defeats Chuck Taylor and The Miz in a triple threat match.

In the third Beat the Clock match of the night, Dalton finds himself back at ringside, facing off with Jimmy Uso. They stare at each other, neither seeming too impressed, but as soon as the bell rings, they're off. Dalton lands a few blows, which Jimmy returns with surprising amount of strength, Dalton rocked back on his feet. They eye each other for a few moments before Dalton rushes forward, trying to get some more offense in, claim this match for himself... just for Jimmy to land a solid boot straight to Dalton's face. He wavers on his feet before shaking his head to ease the cobwebs away and striking out, hitting Jimmy hard enough to wind him. He then gets moving for real, moving into a higher gear as the clock ticks away- German suplex, followed by a bridging pin that Jimmy kicks out of, then misses an attempt at a superkick as Dalton ducks aside, Jimmy whiffing thin air. Dalton grips him around the waist again, landing another suplex, and Jimmy struggles to his feet, just to get put into position for the bang-a-rang, but Dalton pauses. Stares at the clock, which still reads a little over three minutes.

His hesitation gives Jimmy the time he needs to recover, elbowing Dalton hard in the face and gaining separation. But Dalton is still focused, even now, and regains his grip on Jimmy's waist, powering him up and over into another suplex that's not quite a pin but just enough to keep him down while the seconds count away. Jimmy tries everything- rolling, kicking, punching, elbowing, but Dalton has him in such a position that none of his strikes land, and his body is arched off of the ring just enough that he can't gain enough traction. The clock is nearing a minute, the crowd growing restless and the referee impatient, when Dalton releases him and rolls back to his feet, looking smug and somehow calm as the clock ticks further down.

It's then that it clicks with Jimmy. "You're trying to let your little bitch Boy win!" he exclaims, eyes widening as this wakes Dalton up, his heated stare now focused purely on Jimmy. Dalton's bang-a-rang is both satisfying for himself and for the crowd, the cover that follows even more so- but Dalton only holds it until the referee's hand is going down for the three, letting Jimmy go once more and gripping his hair, tugging him up until they're eye to eye.

"No one _ever_ talks about my Boys like that." Then the buzzer goes off, the clock has run down, and neither Dalton or Jimmy have won in the alloted time. He sneers and drops Jimmy's dazed head, rolling out of the ring in time to see his sympathetic Boys running down to check on him. Brandon hugs him a little tighter, a little longer, and Dalton chuckles, lightly kissing the top of his head. "Come, come, my sweet Boys. You need not be around such filth." Hands on their lower backs, he guides them back up the ramp, glaring back at Jimmy just once more before they disappear from sight.

Brock Lesnar tortures Dezmond Xavier for the better part of five minutes, but the guy holds on, and to the shock of everyone, eakes out a victory after focusing the bits of offense he gets on the Beast's injured back following his Summerslam match, and landing a Corkscrew Senton across Brock's back. Despite Dalton's best efforts, for the fourth and final Beat the Clock match, Trent Barretta defeats Jey Uso in 3:29, effectively destroying Brandon's winning time.

An Elimination tag match is held next, pitting Naito and Prince Puma against Cass and Matt Hardy, none of whom are getting along the best. Cass ends up the last man standing after eliminating Puma with an empire elbow. In a champion vs champion match, Sasha Banks is victorious against Natalya after reversing the sharpshooter into a Bank Statement. Matt Sydal overcomes Bray Wyatt's insanity and defeats him with a shooting star press.

Fueled by both Dalton and Brandon's successes- even though neither had won in the end, he's still very proud of both of them- earlier in the night, Brent Tate comes out next for his match against David Crist. He's on fire nearly from the start, unwilling to be the weak link in their three-man team. Flies around the ring, landing blows and kicks, diving onto David, leaving him gasping for air and struggling to get any kind of ground. But there's no chance, Brent is too on-top of his game tonight, and he quickly defeats David after diving through the ropes at him and sending him back into the ring for a second dive from the top rope, rolling him up and pinning him as easy as that. He laughs joyously at the three count and rushes up the ramp to celebrate with his waiting brother and Dalton.

Pitting team mates against each other, AJ Styles, Curtis Axel and Pentagon Dark face off with Zack Sabre Jr., Jeff Hardy and Bo Dallas. Not long after Jeff has successfully taken out Zack and Axel, AJ ridding the ring of Pentagon Dark and Bo dropkicking _him_ out of the ring too, he and Axel brawl back and forth for awhile... just for Bo to see an opportunity and take it, leaving Axel staggering around a brutal knee to the jaw, following it up with his rolling cutter and the pin, defeating Axel and cheering as if he'd just won a championship. He seems completely unbothered by the anger on Axel's face as the rest of his team regroup, take in what's happened while they were recovering on the outside.

The main event is a triple threat match, pitting Jinder Mahal, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose against each other. Seth, having no way of possibly winning this cycle, motions to his new tag team partner, who along with Jinder still have something of an outside chance. "I've got you, Dean!" and he does, for awhile, the two of them working seamlessly to keep Jinder at bay, away from hitting his Khallas. Until, that is, the Singh brothers run to ringside and grip Seth's boots, dragging him out of the ring. Dean is confused, looking around to figure out where Seth went, which gives Jinder just enough time to get to his feet, punch Dean with so much force that he's dazed, still standing there when Jinder strikes with the Khallas, leaving Dean vulnerable to the pin, which the ref hits three just as Seth fights both Singh brothers off and dives into the ring, missing his chance to break up the pinfall by _seconds._

He hits the canvas with a frustrated fist. "Sorry, man, I tried, I just- the Singhs-"

Dean is far from thrilled. But nods, understanding it wasn't Seth's fault. They had grown too complacent upons eeing the two men not at ringside at the start of the match. Neither had figured... "It's fine," he mumbles, holding his fist out until Seth mirrors his action, the two men staring at each other.

Once everyone still viable to win the cycle is backstage, Shane joins them once more. "I've tallied the points," he says cheerfully. "Quite a few of you came close, I almost thought we'd need to do another tiebreaker match, but nope. The winner is pretty obvious after tonight." He teases them a bit. Looks from person to person before stepping forward and resting his hand on Sasha's shoulder. "Congratulations on winning the Raw Women's title for the fourth time, Sasha."

"Thank you," she says, smiling up at him. Expecting him to move on to the next person... but he hovers there.

"You all did great this cycle, and I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the next. But unfortunately there can only be one winner, and that is... of course, The Boss right here." Shane watches as she blinks, not comprehending, then realizing as tears fill her eyes and she laughs in delight.

"Oh my God, really?" She wipes at her face, throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He laughs and hugs her back quickly before pulling away gently, amused to realize that most of the others had wandered away, grumbling at their failure to gain enough points to get the prize. "So any time you want to challenge someone for their title, just let me know and I'll set it up for you. Maybe you'll become a duo champion. That'd be great, huh?"

She beams at him. "It sounds incredible. Thank you so much."

He smiles back before watching her go, then turning to look out towards the ring once more. "Yeah. I like this," he murmurs before stuffing his hands in his pockets and heading back to his office to celebrate the cycle's conclusion.


	91. chapter 91

Shane's week's been iffy at best. He has Kevin Owens breathing down his neck about _everything_ , and general stress post-Summerslam keeps weighing him down. He's thankful for the brief respite Team Work gives him. A new beginning, as it were, since it's time for a new cycle to begin since Sasha won last week's. After shuffling the roster together, making the match card that he wants, he orders a tech to hang it up, opting for once to remain in his office and watch from the relative peace and quiet of his sanctuary.

The first match pits Enzo Amore against Prince Puma, Enzo shuffling along in his hyperactive dance as he does his usual introduction. If he has something to say, no one finds out because Puma is clearly impatient to get things going and comes out before Enzo could put the microphone to his lips once more. Puma overwhelms most of the match, Enzo barely able to get a few punches in before he finds himself back down on the mat, trying to roll free from various submission holds. Enzo does get a volly of offense in at one point, catching Puma with a diving sledge, sending him down, but Puma regroups, resumes taking Enzo apart piece by piece... until Enzo catches him on the downswing, planting his sneakers straight in his jaw, knocking Puma loopy just long enough for the three count. Enzo blinks in surprise before rolling out of the ring, running around in victory for a few moments before heading for the ramp, not wanting to give Puma the opportunity to get revenge for the loss.

Roman Reigns defeats Hanson, the two men fighting brutally, without holding back, until Roman snags a spear. Then lands a solid Superman Punch to his jaw, downing the man instantly. New GFW champion, Eli Drake, maintains his winning ways against Shinsuke Nakamura, and Gran Metalik defeats Dave Crist. Raymond Rowe overwhelms Johnny Mundo's highflying ways and Cedric Alexander defeats Jey Uso.

The following match pits Dean Ambrose against Kenny Omega, and the audience can barely keep track of the two men as they brawl, sometimes in the ring, sometimes out of it. Omega leapfrogging over Dean's reverse lariat and landing a running knee strike has everyone out of their seats, certain the match is over, but Dean kicks out, gasping for air before lunging to his feet and resuming his offense, just to get hoisted up for the One Winged Angel- until Dean shifts his body weight and sweeps forward, somehow getting ahold of Kenny and planting him down in the Dirty Deeds, giving him enough time to pin the man.

Sanada walks out the victor after avoiding Mustafa Ali's highflying offense, FInn Balor gives Bobby Roode his first loss since Bobby's move to the WWE main roster, and Jake Crist demolishes Josh Woods' hopes to start the cycle off on a positive note. Becky and Naomi are pitted against Nia Jax in a two on one match and, after both get demolished by the powerful woman for awhile, they finally find their rhythm and Naomi staggers her with a wheelbarrow stunner, Becky following it up with a dropkick, the two relieved when she _finally_ drops to the mat, giving Becky enough space to lunge forward and lock in the disarmer, Naomi watching closely until Nia, unable to overpower the submission to squirm over to the ropes, has no choice but to tap. They scramble away, celebrating their victory on the ramp as Nia rages in the ring.

The main event is an Elimination Chamber. John Cena, Jimmy Uso, AJ Styles, Elias and Rich Swann all fill the pods while Seth Rollins and Jimmy Uso begin the match. They circle each other, Jimmy talking plenty of smack while Seth ignores him, adjusting his wrist tape and waiting for an opening to truly start in on weakening his opponent. "Ain't got much to say now that we're face to face, huh?!" Jimmy yells at him before Seth lunges forward, locks up with him. Jimmy fights, gets the upperhand briefly, but is met with a punch that rocks him. Seth continues attacking with knees, punches, forearms, relieved for every inch of breathing room he gets, until Jimmy lands a boot to Seth's upper chest that staggers him, makes it hard to breathe. Jimmy's just gone to the top of the nearest cell to splash on him when the countdown begins- and it just so happens that the cell he's on is the one that's about to open, releasing Rich Swann into the match.

Changing course, Jimmy crashes down towards him, landing a solid boot to his face and leaving Rich out almost from the moment he enters the match. It also gives Seth enough time to recover, try to rush forward to grip Jimmy's wrist, sling him face first into his knee, but Jimmy scouts it, superkicks Seth right in the face and downs him. Jimmy's second attempt at a splash is perfect this time and he pins Seth, eliminating him to the shock of the crowd and all watching. Before he can do anything, however, Rich Swann regroups, sneaks up on him and uses his agility and strength to roll Jimmy over, tangling him up in a pin that anyone would have problems getting out of, and taking him out of the equation next. Rich's happiness is shortlived, however, when he's met with a superkick, finding himself down on the mat once more.

John Cena is out of the pods next and he eyes Rich, not comfortable with eliminating the man like this. So he waits and when AJ Styles is next out, they meet in the middle of the ring, exchanging rights and lefts, both trying to get the upperhand and neither quite managing it. Until AJ lands a pele kick that sends Cena staggering back, giving AJ time to go to the ropes and hit the Phenomenal Forearm, leaving Cena down just long enough for AJ to hoist him up and hit the Styles Clash, pinning him for the next elimination. Rich has just barely come to but AJ isn't a boy scout like Cena, he has no qualms with hoisting him up and landing the Styles Clash on him too, eliminating him also.

This leaves AJ and Elias, who finally gets let out of the final pod and meets AJ with a brutal right cross, staggering the older man. Elias' offense is surprisingly crisp, brutal, and AJ can barely keep himself moving as more shots are landed, more damage is taken. AJ gasps for air as Elias punches him in the midsection, winding him, then boots him in the face, leaving him leaning against the ropes for any sort of balance. He blinks, shakes his hair out of his eyes, and ducks aside just before Elias could clothesline him over onto the rough steel waiting on the outside of the ring. He dropkicks Elias over instead, listening as he hits with a satisfying thud. Except that Elias is fresh while AJ isn't, and he recovers before AJ can take advantage of the vulnerability, rushing back into the ring and hoisting AJ up into a Drift Away so sudden, so fluid, that no one could've gotten out of it in time, or kicked out. AJ stares up at the lights overhead as his elimination is announced and Elias is declared the winner of the match, Elias' smug laughter echoing in his ears as he rolls over painfully and slaps his hand against the mat, trying to breathe through the disappointment. "Dammit!"


	92. chapter 92

Shane grits his teeth before leaving the Smackdown arena. Grips Daniel's arm and tugs him aside for some privacy. "Listen, I need you to take over Team Work for awhile until this blows over." He's suspended, he can't make sure Smackdown will be run like the tight ship it has been the last few months, so he decides to also bow out of Team Work. "I'm sorry for putting more on you, but I just... I need to get my head on straight. You know?" Not to mention it'll keep him out of Kevin Owens' orbit, which is only good for all of them.

Daniel sighs. "Fine, Shane. Just because I respect you as a friend and co-worker. Now go. Get out of here. And take care of yourself, huh?" He pats Shane on the arm and watches as he goes with a strained look on his face, now having to run two shows alone. Once he sits down with the list of competitors and begins to book, it's kind of fun to have this level of power without having to run his decisions by other people.

The first match of the night is a tag team match pitting Jimmy Uso and Eli Drake against Jeff Hardy and Lowki, things breaking down after awhile as Jimmy and Jeff brawl outside of the ring, Drake and Lowki letting out their own frustrations in-ring until Lowki knocks Drake down and then lands his stomps from the top rope for the victory. Son of Madness defeats Cesaro, and Dave Crist eakes out a win against Tanahashi.

After a lengthy fight that sees both men struggling for the upperhand, it sees Dean squirming free from Lethal Injection before landing a Dirty Deeds on Jay Lethal and pinning him for the three, lifting his fist in success as he shoulders his tag titles, rolling out of the ring with a pleased look on his sweaty, tired face. Chris Adonis wins against Shelton Benjamin, and despite all of Lana's encouragements and barking commands from the outside, Tamina fails to succeed in a handicap match against Emma and Alexa Bliss, the 'new' woman's champion catching her just enough with Twisted Bliss to pin her.

Bobby Roode faces off with John Cena and, encouraged on by a very vocal crowd, the two men brawl and fight for the victory, each outdoing the other more and more, Cena scooping Roode up for an AA just for Bobby to squirm out and grip him by the neck, slamming him down to the mat and landing an elbow. Forcing Cena up once more, he hits a swinging neckbreaker and then sweeps into a crossface, applying as much pressure as he can on Cena's surgically repaired neck. Cena squirms, rolls, even gets some momentum going, but Bobby hoists him up and slams him back down in a Glorious DDT, surprising everyone by pinning Cena with just enough pressure on his back and shoulders, along his neck, to keep him down for the three count. Afterwards, once Cena's up, breathing heavily but back with it for the most part, he holds his hand out to Bobby and shakes it warmly as soon as Bobby meets him halfway.

Jey Uso takes out Marty the Moth, Kongo Kong defeats Chad Gable, and Joey Ryan succeeds against Naito. Randy Orton's match against Petey Williams only lasts a few moments as he repeats his match against Rusev, catching the man early with a RKO and leaving to collect his paycheck with barely a minute between his entrance playing to herald his arrival and now to announce his success. The next match is an elimination chamber match and Aiden English walks out the victor after being the last out from his pod, then spending most of his time in the match sitting on top of his pod, singing obnoxiously until everyone else has mostly eliminated each other, leaving him a weakened Son of Havoc to defeat, which he does to the shock of everyone in a short amount of time.

The main event pits AJ Styles against Enzo Amore and the two men circle each other. Enzo tries, he does. Lands a few solid shots that leaves AJ rocked, but the US champion keeps fighting back, landing forearms, pele kicks, Enzo struggling after a few minutes just to keep his footing, much less breathe somewhat normally. The audience holds their breath when AJ flies out for a phenonenal forearm and Enzo dodges, tries to do the finger in the eye stunt to win again. AJ, however, is too good, has planned for this, knowing Enzo's latest style of cheating to win, and sweeps his legs out from under him before dragging him up for the Styles Clash. Not wanting to seriously hurt him, he checks to make sure Enzo's head isn't at an odd angle before smashing him chest first into the mat, sweeping his leg over and pinning him.

Enzo isn't thrilled with the loss, obviously, but he nods at AJ, points at him a time or two, breathless and hurting, before rolling out of the ring to let AJ celebrate the victory, the much needed point this early in the cycle. AJ smirks, staring out at the crowd. "Keep this up, this cycle will be all mine..."


	93. chapter 93

Stephanie is around. Daniel's seen her, she's backstage at Smackdown, watching everything and everyone. But she doesn't stop him, doesn't say anything about Team Work, merely offers a fake kind of smile when they cross paths backstage. He's relieved. He enjoys Team Work in a way he doesn't Smackdown, because Smackdown is mostly self-operating. The guys feud with who they want to feud, and there's very little room to deviate, especially for title matches. But Team Work has different rosters, different guys, no title restrictions. It's just fun. A mischevious look crosses his face as he decides to do something a little different thing night, testing out different combinations of tag teams and match types with the roster he has before him just to see what happens.

The first match of the night pits Shinsuke Nakamura and Petey Williams against Matanza and Gran Metalik, Gran Metalik achieving the victory after Matanza takes out Shinsuke and leaves Petey vulnerable to Metalik's Driver.

Kazuchika Okada looks impressive in any light, and this night is so exception. He stands on the top rope and spreads his arms, welcoming the adulation of the people before him while he prepares for the first Beat the Clock match of the night. His opponent is Sheamus, Cesaro not allowed at ringside to Gedo's relief. The bell rings and the two men _brawl-_ exchanging fists, Sheamus' boots met with Okada's forearms, both men trying and failing to hit their finishers repeatedly until Sheamus misses another boot to the face, staggering forward just to find himself held tightly by Okada, who tugs him forward and lands the Rainmaker on him, downing him and leaving him dazed as Okada pins him, watching the clock. 5:48. Not great, but he supposes it'll have to do.

Chris Sabin defeats Enzo Amore in singles action next, and the following match is the second Beat the Clock of the night, pitting Kenny Omega against Seth Rollins. They circle each other, eyes locked on the other, and Omega smirks slowly. They start slow, smart, feeling each other out, before getting more aggressive, determined. Seth attempts a knee and Omega dodges, slapping it away, ragging a finger at him. They regroup, start circling each other again, but this time Omega attacks first, landing solid palm strikes to Seth's chest, his face, winding and dazing him, leaving him vulnerable to a suplex that sends him clear across the ring, Seth's ears ringing as he lands hard and blinks up at the lights, only just dodging when Omega tries to land a knee against his face.

Seth grips the ropes and pulls himself up to his feet after taking a moment to catch his breath, glaring across at Omega before meeting him with a series of punches and forearms, hoisting him up and running him across the ring before slamming him back first into the turnbuckles, Omega immediately crumbling at his feet. Pleased, Seth grips him by the arm and drags him up, just for Omega to recover in the split second it took Seth to adjust his position, taking a knee to the face. It's a grazing blow but it's enough to stagger him, allowing Omega to lift him for a double underhook piledriver. Seth hits the mat hard and falls limply onto his chest, breathing heavily as he stares out at the crowd, some cheering him on, some chanting about how awesome the match is. Either way, it's enough, he staggers back to his feet before Omega can accomplish anything else, grabs his wrist and slams him face first into his knee, downing Omega and pinning him in 4:29, crushing Okada's time by more than a full minute. He grins, lifts his arm in victory, and rolls out of the ring before the other members of Bullet Club who are _always_ lurking around could get any ideas.

In six man action, Miz achieves victory for his team, Alex Shelley and Cortez somehow managing to hold their own against Jay White, Braun Strowman and Eli Drake until Mike can sneak in and land the SkullCrushing Finale on White, pinning him while Strowman is distracted with demolishing Shelley and. Eli is mocking Cortez.

Aiden English defeats Jonathon Gresham in the final Beat the Clock match of the night, successfully beating Seth's time at 3:27. Silas Young walks out the victor of a seven man battle royal, and Nia defeats Taryn Terrell, Sienna, Natalya, and Emma one at a time in a gauntlet match, barely breaking a sweat as she stands over them all with a smug smirk on her face. The night ends with Will Ferrara and Baron Corbin somehow working together long enough to win in a tag match against Ortiz and John Cena, Will Ferrara defeating Cortiz while Corbin keeps Cena focus on him, the two arguing back and forth between wrestling moves until the bell rings and Cena looks on in confusion at the loss, Corbin laughing at him and almost knocking Will over with hard slaps to his back.


	94. chapter 94

Shane's back. It's a struggle to focus when he can't get the image of his father getting decimated at Kevin Owens' hands out of his mind, but he manages it. Somehow. Puts together a haphazard card for the evening and sits back to calculate points quietly, his office door shut and locked to dissaude interruptions.

In the first match, Kenny King ends up victorious against Elias after outlasting all of his offense and dropping Elias into a fireman's carry cutter.

Seth Rollins follows this, standing in the ring and watching with a weird smirk on his face until Grado comes out, prancing and making the crowd pay attention to him, Seth laughing vaguely and shaking his head as his opponent enters the ring, clearly underestimating what a challenge the man could be. This changes fairly quickly once the bell rings and Grado begins to actually overwhelm Seth with his slew of offense taken from other wrestlers. Seth strikes out with a punch just to receive a boot to the face, staggering him further, but before he can regroup, Grado lands a stunner that sends Seth scrambling for space, sinking into the corner and panting for breath... just to get hit with a cannonball. This hurts as much as it wakes him up and he forces himself up right, dodging what looks like a Rock Bottom attempt before gripping Grado's wrist and forcing him forward, landing the jumping knee straight to his face on the rebound, downing him long enough for the pin.

Garza Jr defeats Ibushi, and Natalya walks out successfully after a triple threat match that sees her lurking on the outside, watching and waiting until Taya and Sasha Banks wreck each other bad enough for her to sneak in, throw Taya out of the ring and lock in the sharpshooter on a vulnerable Sasha until she has no choice but to tap. Matanza treats Chad Gable like a ragdoll, defeating him within less than a minute, and Marty the Moth Martinez continues Lucha Underground's winning ways by defeating Kofi Kingston, his somewhat maddening way of taking offense and dishing it back three-fold assisting with that.

Trevor Lee continues his own momentum after winning the X-Division title by defeating Shelton Benjamin, and AJ Styles gets the winning pin on Matt Hardy in a handicapped match which was spent keeping a close eye on his partner, Bray Wyatt, as much as it was actually wrestling whenever he found himself actually in the ring. Naito avoids suffering an infamously broken arm by defeating Pentagon Dark and getting out of the ringside area as soon as he possibly can, barely even waiting around to acknowledge his win before bailing. PJ Black takes out Big E with one of his 450 Splashes, and then it's time for the main event.

Elimination Chamber. Ethan Carter III is out first, tugging at the chains, looking dispassionately upon the miles of steel forming the cage. He seems unimpressed, barely glancing over when the others make their way down- Roman Reigns, Marty Scurll, Jeff Hardy, Dean Ambrose, Johnny Mundo. He rolls his eyes, flexes his shoulders and waits as Scurll, Jeff, Dean and Mundo all slip into pods to wait their turns to enter. Once the bell rings, he and Roman circle each other for awhile, watching, waiting for an opportunity. The crowd rumbles unhappily when Roman falls back into his usual offense- punches leading to spears leading to superman punches leading to...

Ethan kicking out at 2. Awake and focused now, the crowd roars as Ethan gets some offense in, a chain of haymakers of his own, leveling Roman. He barely notices the sound of the countdown or a pod opening until Scurll has joined in and they're fighting Roman together, Marty landing a spinning underhook suplex on the larger man, causing him to stagger up and right into Ethan's waiting arms a minute later, getting hit with the 1%er and eating the pin. The crowd roars when they realize that not only has Roman been eliminated, but he was the _first_ kicked out! Ethan's so busy celebrating getting rid of WWE's golden child that he doesn't realize until it's too late- Scurll has snuck up, slams him down in the Birds of Prey, and then defeats him. Simple as that. Ethan gapes at the ceiling overhead before hesitantly roling out of the ring in a daze.

Mundo enters next and he and Scurll take it to each other, the crowd egging them on with each strike, every kick, all of the riskier moves off of the top ropes. It's only when Mundo goes for the End of the World that he falters on the ropes, almost losing his balance, allowing Scurrl to recover, drop into the ropes and send Johnny flipping off to the mat below. Scurll lands another Birds of Prey before pinning him, Mundo gaping at the ring in disgust as he walks backwards up the ramp, meeting with a concerned Taya once he's almost mostly gone. Jeff is the next one out of the pods, he and Scurll immediately fighting until Jeff lands a twist of fate and Dean has hopes but it doesn't fully surprise him that Marty kicks out at 2.

Dean's freed then and the three wrestlers begin brawling all over again, trying to get the upperhand on one another. Scurll has Jeff, about to suplex him, when Dean grips him and lands Dirty Deeds, before getting his hands on Jeff and repeating the action, pinning him. Scurll recovers enough to kick out when Dean tries the same to him, blinking owlishly up at the lights overhead before rolling to relative safety near the pods. Not safe enough, however, as Dean staggers up and over to him, just to get rammed face first into the pod. Not enough momentum to break the glass, but definitely enough to daze Dean. He grimaces, shakes his head wildly, and grabs blindly at Scurll, planting him into the chains on the outside of the ring.

Scurll is the one staggered now, falling back into the ring and only just getting up to his feet in time to be met with another Dirty Deeds, this time succumbing to the dreaded three count. Dean cackles in his ear before he struggles to get up, allow his hand to be raised in victory. "Three'n'oh, baby!" he yells out to the crowd, marking his third win in this cycle of Team Work, already leaps and bounds above the others.


	95. chapter 95

Shane exhales. Stretches. Tries not to freak entirely out after how Smackdown ended. With Owens escaping and Sami Zayn unconscious after being used as a weapon against him. He sighs, scrubbing at his eyes, before turning to the match card he had thrown together as quickly as possible with the names provided. He nods at the few people lurking around in the hallway as he tacks up the piece of paper by gorilla before ducking back into his office, burying his face in his hands and trying to keep himself together as he listens to the distant echo of the show beginning.

The first match of the night is an elimination tag match pitting Cesaro and Kofi Kingston against Kongo Kong and Apollo Crews. Neither Kofi nor Cesaro are thrilled with the match or having to team with each other, especially considering Cesaro's injury, and Kofi's forced to start, holding his own as best as he can against Kongo's much larger size. Cesaro waves his arms in frustration whenever Kofi starts to falter, finally tagging himself in and facing off with Kongo Kong, just for Apollo to take some pity on him and tagging in. He's careful to avoid outright attacking Cesaro's mouth but Cesaro is still in pain even when he's not being touched, letting it fuel him to send Apollo into a spin that lasts longer than most ever have. Apollo hits the mat with a dull thud, staring up at the lights overhead as Cesaro lifts him for the Neutralizer, pinning him and looking up as Kongo Kong re-enters the match.

His smile is gruesome and brutal looking as the larger man barrels towards him, just for Cesaro to roll out of the ring and walk up the ramp. The referee yells at him to return before starting the count, Kongo Kong trying to get past him but getting pushed back every time, the referee dutiful and correctly following the rules of the match placed before him. Kofi buries his face in his hands when Cesaro is officially counted out, leaving him along with Kongo Kong. Except that Cesaro is sitting down on the ramp, taunting Kongo Kong, who is confused and wanting to get at him... which leaves him unexpecting an attack from Kofi, who takes advantage of his distraction by going uptop and hitting Trouble of Paradice from up there, snapping the larger man's head back as he crumples to his knees, collapsing to his side. Kofi scrambles to push him onto his back, pins him and gapes as he gets the 3 count. Rolls out of the ring and runs up the ramp, laughing ridiculously as Cesaro gets to his feet and lifts an eyebrow at him. "You're welcome for the point," he says with a sneer before heading up the ramp, Kofi brushing off his comment, still celebrating the win with the crowd.

Still sore from his beat down from Braun and everything he endured to win the Cruiserweight title, Enzo Amore is defeated easily by Eli Drake, and Elias walks out the winner in a triple threat match against Pagano and Neville.

Next up is a fatal five way pitting Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax, Charlotte, Taya and Mariposa against each other. They all fight brutally, sometimes working together to hold either Nia or Mariposa back, but for the most part, the five split up into groups of two, Alexa content to stay back and watch until Nia or Charlotte drag her back into things, Mariposa and Taya content to ignore her in their goals to fight the others, win the match. The ring clears out after Nia sends both Taya and Alexa out with clotheslines over the top rope, Charlotte trying and failing to dropkick the other woman out of the ring and getting slinged out for her troubles instead. Mariposa tries to get her arms around Nia but fails, quickly getting Samoan Dropped to the mat, Nia pinning her to the mat and keeping her down long enough for the three count.

Kazarian defeats El Hijo del Fantasma and, after a lot of teeth gritting and snapping back and forth, a lot of their anger getting taken out on their opponents, Dean Ambrose and Sheamus win against Josh Wood and Dante Fox, Sheamus taking out Fox with a brogue kick and leaving Woods vulnerable to a Dirty Deeds and Dean's successful pin attempt.

The main event is a battle royal, Johnny Mundo, Pentagon Dark, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Brock Lesnar, Son of Havoc, Marty the Moth, Rusev, Big E, EVIL, Juice Robinson, The Miz, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns all making their way to the ring for the match that's about to be contested. Surveying the ring, Seth and Roman exchange glances, a lot of weight in that stare, before wading in. Mundo is exchanging punches with Pentagon Dark when he takes a sharp elbow to the face, stumbling back just to fall back to back with someone. Turning, about to take a swing, he stops short, finding himself face to face with Miz. They stare at each other for a few moments before lunging forward, taking out Balor and Pentagon Dark before either man could land a strike on them. "Hey," Mundo laughs, clapping his best friend on the shoulder before they spin and take out EVIL and Marty the Moth, still standing back to back and defending each other.

Mike smirks, marveling at how easily they're falling back into old, familiar patterns. "Like the good old days, huh?"

"Something like that," John says, pausing to kick an approaching Juice, sending him into the ropes. He ends up being the first eliminated after Mundo follows up with a forearm, the man crashing heels over head to the mat below, slapping his fist against the floor in frustration.

"Oh please, you know you miss partnering up with me. Who wouldn't?" Mike wonders, landing a solid punch when Finn gets too close again, rocking him back. One back-breaker neck breaker combo later and Finn is easy to scoop up and send down the same path Juice had just went a minute earlier.

John laughs. "Nice to see you're still humble as ever, Mike." He watches with some interest as Orton hits Pentagon Dark with a dropkick, sending him clean over the ropes and out of the match.

"Where does that get you in this business?" Mike scoffs, stepping backwards and pushing John with him as Son of Havoc and Rusev brawl near him, Rusev eventually getting the upperhand and bodily hoisting Son of Havoc up and out of the ring.

"Not far," John admits, grabbing Mike's arm and ducking as Lesnar runs at them. They work together, yelling at a few of the others scattered around and soon, Rusev, Marty the Moth and EVIL are with them, all trying to eliminate the Universal champion. It's not until Big E and Seth join in that they get the man crowded towards the ropes, hoisting him up and over. He teeters, fighting for balance, when Bray and Orton join the fray, toppling him with a sound that would make anyone look twice as he hits the floor and stares up at them with angry bitterness on his reddened face.

The group quickly scatter, not wanting to give him the opportunity to drag any of them out to continue his particular kind of devastation... when Roman, dazed after missing a spear attempt on Big E, gets eliminated by Rusev and EVIL strong arming him over the top rope. John watches the amount of wrestlers dwindling and smirks, turning on his heel. "Well, as nice as this reunion's been," he says, suddenly gripping Mike by the neck and running him to the ropes, throwing him over easily. Mike lets out an offended yell as he hits the ground and John laughs at him, eyes gleaming with mirth, before Big E grabs him and starts to run him at the ropes, preparing to dropkick him... just for Mike to lunge up, grab the ropes, and send John toppling out to join him. They glower at each other, pushing and arguing as they storm backstage, ignoring the referees' commands the entire way.

Seth, brawling with EVIL in the corner, ducks a wild hit and blasts back with a brutal uppercut of his own, causing him to teeter against the turnbuckle pads. Time seems to freeze as Seth stares at him, trying to think of a next move, when he feels something behind him and ducks, rolling away just in time as EVIL takes the brunt of Rusev's forearm. Rising back up, Seth hoists EVIL up and over, not giving him a minute to catch his breath before dropping him with a harsh punch to the face, sending him off of the apron to the floor.

Rusev glowers at Seth before turning in time to grab Big E and send him easily out of the ring, Orton already in the process of eliminating both Bray and Marty the Moth, the three remaining men eyeing themselves uncomfortably once it's done. Anger already brimming just below the surface, Rusev and Orton go after each other first, Seth left to loiter in the corner and watch as they fight for the upperhand, Rusev rocking Orton with a few solid strikes, just for Orton to fight back and get a good series of punches in. They're so lost in their fight that both are ignoring Seth and he quickly grows bored, lunging forward and grabbing Orton's wrist, getting enough speed up to hit his running knee to the man's face, rocking him back into Rusev. Seth eyes them and then rushes forward, hitting a second running knee and sending them both into the ropes, Rusev falling over and eliminating himself from the match. Seth grabs Orton then and slings him over the ropes as well, hitting a spinkick that sends Orton arching clean out of the ring, giving the win to Seth.

He laughs and lifts his arms in victory, listening to the crowd cheering him on.


	96. chapter 96

Shane McMahon hurts. Even blinking sends the sensation of agony down his spine. So he writes up the card for the evening's episode of Team Work, passes off the information to a tech, stumbles back into his office, locks the door, and collapses onto his couch with the TV flickering on the wall in front of him. He can barely keep his eyes open but he tries, he really does. Everything before him is a muddle of wrestling moves and loud sounds from the crowd, and eventually he closes his eyes, trying his hardest to follow as Dr. Wagner defeats Jimmy Uso.

He shifts, puts his feet up on the couch as he hears that Sienna's defeated Sasha Banks. Baron Corbin taking out Naito is almost too much for him to comprehend, and although he's happy when Bayley wins over Taya, his skull feels like it's about to crack in two and he can barely think straight. Flip Gordon winning against Tanahashi has Shane squinting at his TV, unsure if he's hallucinating or how it all happened, a frown on his face. He fades out again, listening as Hanson and Braun Strowman go at it, Hanson eventually dropping the larger man and hitting a splash from the top rope, keeping him down long enough for the three count to the crowd's shock.

Jake Crist eaking out a victory against Seth Rollins is so confusing, so strange that Shane is truly unsure what's happening, pinching his forearm and gritting his teeth against even _more_ pain on his already taxed body. Charlotte Flair succeeding at making Taryn tap to her figure eight and Matt Hardy victorious against Killshot seems more normal to what he would expect, just for Jey Uso's win against Cody stretching the power of his imagination once more. A handicap match pitting Roman Reigns against Raymond Rowe and David Crist, with Rowe walking out the victor, leaves him laying back down, imagining the scowl on his father's face. Trevor Lee defeats Jason Jordan and Elias wins against Eli Drake, Shane hears more than sees.

The main event is Finn Balor vs Kevin Owens and Shane forces himself to sit up and watch this, dizzy and ill as he considers what will be coming his way Sunday. Owens is toying with Finn, faking out the pop up powerbomb a couple of times to wile the crowd up, before honestly going for it just for Finn to squirm out and land on his feet behind Owens, kicking him away enough times to finally get some distance between them. As Owens tries to catch his breath, Finn snags him with an elbow to the side of the face and while he's staggered, hits a sling blade. Owens now down on the mat, Finn rushes for the top rope and lands a Coup de Grace, actually defeating his much larger opponent. Wisely rolling out of the ring, he raises his hands and laughs as Owens leans against the ropes and stares at him in baleful shock.

Meanwhile, back in his office, Shane's teeth flash as he faces the reality that Kevin Owens is _not_ invincible. That he can lose just like anyone else. "Gotcha," he mumbles.


	97. chapter 97

With Shane at home recovering from his match against Owens, the McMahons all busy with their own business, and Angle drowning in Raw drama and getting to know his newly discovered son, it leaves Team Work once more to Daniel Bryan. He stares at the card that Shane had been working on before Hell in a Cell and nods, finding that he's fine with what's already there. Comprises the rest of the list and then has it tacked up for the others to see what they're planning, going to his office to watch over the show.

The first match sees Mike Elgin defeat Dave Crist within a few minutes with a splash from the top, and there's an Elimination Chamber match that follows, Sonjay Dutt, Tye Dillinger, Texano Jr, and Karl Anderson all held in pods while Randy Orton and The Mack circle each other, Orton rocked by Mack's surprisingly fast attacks, punches and kicks, knees to the face and... Mack is going for a dropkick when Orton snags him into an RKO out of nowhere, pinning him and pacing the ring until the next pod is open, letting Dutt out. He lasts longer than Mack, even lands a few solid strikes and dives from the top rope, but ultimately has the same end as Orton RKOs him seconds before the third pod opens, Tye actually holding his own against Randy, avoiding the RKO until the fourth pod's time runs out and Texano Jr is freeds, the two of them working together until Orton, frustrated, lands a dropkick on Texano and an RKO on Tye, eliminating him before rounding on Texano.

He's landed a few solid forearms to the downed man's back when Karl Anderson is finally freed and Orton barely blinks at his presence, flinching away from his wildly thrown punches before Texano slings him back in a brutal suplex, trying to pin him- just to snarl when Orton kicks out and rolls away from them, Texano's scowl growing as he rounds on Anderson, needing to take his frustration out on _someone._ Anderson ducks his forearm and lands a solid kick to the side of Texano's head, snapping him back against the ropes, but before he can recover, Orton's back up, RKOing first Anderson, then Texano, pinning them one at a time and making a clean sweep of the match, posing on the top ropes, overseeing the crowd and its members' varying response to his success.

Chad Gable succeeds in a triangle match against Jimmy Uso and Hangman Page after finishing off a lot of intense chain wrestling with a back-to-belly suplex to Jimmy that nearly sends him out of his sneakers, bridging up into a pin that he can't get out of in time. Curious to see what he can do, Daniel Bryan peers at the monitor closely as Braun Strowman faces down a gauntlet match, mowing his way through Jake Crist, Petey Williams, and even demolishing Bobby Roode, who tries to put up a fight but ultimately fails against the larger man's strength. It's only when his final possible opponent- Jey Uso- is in the ring that Braun's energy falters a little, the bits of damage that the other three had managed to land against him starting to eat into his endurance. Jey takes advantage of that, landing superkicks and even taking his chances with a splash off of the top- just for Braun to snag him out of midair and just about to spin Jey around when... Crist runs down, distracts the referee while Bobby and Petey run in from the other side, pulling Jey to safety and then the three of them hoist him up and slam him over before Petey and Bobby slide out of the ring and duck out of sight, Jey shaking off the pain and scrambling up the top rope, diving down on top of Braun in a brutal splash, forcing as much as his weight as possible on top of the man's chest and pinning him.

Nick Jackson eats the loss for his team with Kevin Owens, who is too beat up after Hell in a Cell to really help much against Luke Gallows and Elias, and Natalya walks out the victor in a triple threat match after pinning Ivelisse upon taking advantage of Bayley's focus after hitting the Bayley to Belly and throwing her out of the ring, claiming the pin for herself and cackling all the way up the ramp as she holds onto her title belt victoriously. Matt Jackson wins against Shelton Benjamin and El Hijo Del Fantasma pins Matt Sydal in a tag match with Fenix, Kenny King unable to return into the ring in time to help his partner after a risky dive from Fenix that had left him loopy, followed by Baron Corbin succeeding against Chris Adonis.

The main event pits Sasha against Carmella, the Boss' eyes locked on James Ellsworth, still leashed, as Carmella clicks the end of it to the turnbuckle post so he can't go far. She blanches as Carmella smugly gets into the ring, brandishing her briefcase around before handing it out to James, a warning glance on her face as he eagerly takes it and walks obediently back to his corner. Out of sight out of mind. Sasha doesn't even _like_ James- none of the women do, on either brand- but still. "You've got problems, don't you?" she calls across the ring, eager for the bell to ring so they can begin. She'd forgotten how loud Carmella could be, screaming with every strike and blow Sasha lands against her, barely tapping her with her boots before Carmella cries out like she's dying. "Oh, boy," she mumbles, trying to finish this up early by tangling Carmella up in a pinning combination, their legs tangled together, but she kicks out just in time and rolls to the corner, James fanning at her and looking encouragingly on when Carmella leans as far out as she can, away from Sasha.

She watches on, bewildered, as Carmella gets to her feet and advances on her, swinging wide just for Sasha to avoid and throw back with a punch of her own, Carmella staggering back and leaving herself vulnerable to more offense, Sasha eventually cornering her and elbowing her hard in the side, dragging her back out and moving to hit the Bank Statement just for James to toss something through the ropes into the ring, distracting both her and the referee, who moves to pick up the spare leash from where it's laying harmlessly a few feet away. Carmella takes advantage and whips Sasha down against her outstretched foot, sending Sasha ricocheting back against the ring, blinking up in a daze as Carmella twists her up into the Code of Silence, spots dancing before Sasha's vision as she's slowly rid of oxygen, unable to fight free from the move. Her hand flaps as she considers tapping, struggling to focus well enough to inch forward to hit the bottom rope but every shift rids her of more strength and eventually she goes entirely limp, barely finding the strength to slap her fingers against Carmella's leg, the referee counting the tap and giving the win to Carmella, who immediately drops her and rolls into the corner, laughing as she looks out at James with some appreciation.

"Good boy!" she says, easing out of the ring and patting him on the head before pausing, her fingers resting in his soft blond hair. Sighing, she decides to go a little further in rewarding him and leans in, pressing her other hand to his neck and kissing him as he melts into her, his hands easing around her as he tries to make the moment last, clearly eager for affection like this. She _almost_ misses the feel of him when she pulls away but she shakes it off before freeing him from the turnbuckle post and tugging on his leash, leading him away as he stares at her, dazed.


	98. chapter 98

Shane will be back next week. Daniel exhales in relief. He can give this responsibility back, or at least not shoulder _all_ of it, depending on Shane's physical and mental condition. It's a relief. _Just one more week,_ he tells himself, tapping his pencil over the card for the night's show, deciding it's as good a list as he's going to be able to make right now.

The first match of the night is a risk- an all-female Ultimate X, Rosemary vs Emma vs Becky vs Allie vs Sexy Star. He's not sure about leaving Rosemary and Sexy Star in the ring alone together but he hopes that there's enough people in the match to keep them from outright killing each other. The lights flicker as soon as Rosemary gets a good look at Star, but Emma goes right for Star, leaving Rosemary Becky to contend with, Allie hanging back and waiting for an opportunity to fight with _someone._ Becky is clearly trying to weaken Rosemary's arm for the disarmer, and pays for it as Rosemary sends her bodily into Allie, the tangle of limbs and bodies hard to get free from, leaving Rosemary to stalk after Emma and Star, who both freeze uncomfortably when Rosemary grabs Star and slams her into the nearest turnbuckle, rage building and leaving her completely unaware as Emma slips past them, climbs up the turnbuckle and gets a good grip on the crisscrossing ropes overhead, shimmying over until she has the X within reach. "No!" Becky exclaims, only just now free from a confused Allie and scrambling to get there in time, but it's too late- Emma grabs the X and pulls it free before Rosemary could get her bearings and climb the ropes to stop her.

Rosemary snarls and goes after Star again, but a cascade of referees slide in and stop the ensuing brawl, holding Rosemary back long enough for Star to escape in one piece. The lights flicker a few times before things settle down, Emma walking up the ramp with her win, laughing smugly at them.

James Storm defeats Jason Jordan after a lengthy back and forth match, and Shelton Benjamin is the winner in a triple threat match against Elias and The Mack. Cody takes a kind of smug glee in defeating new Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto, and Randy Orton outlasts Killshot with an abrupt RKO snagging him coming off of the top rope and planting him so thoroughly that he barely moves after the pin is counted.

Matt Taven walks solo to the ring, smirking at the crowd. He's without his walking stick for the first time in a long time, and it feels _good._ Even better since he's not in the ROH halls, and won't have to worry _as_ much about a conspiracy against him and his fellow Kingdom brothers. He seems bored during Nakamura's flashy entrance, eager to get this match started. Barely lets Shinsuke get into the ring before he's planting a boot in his face, tugging him in the rest of the way and slapping him hard. Nakamura does recover, knees him hard in the face, and Taven rocks back, getting good vibrations in the corner, but he slaps Nakamura away and grips him around the waist, trying to sling him back in a suplex... just to get slapped away and sent into the ropes, Nakamura kneeing him in the chest and sending him to the outside. Matt gnaws at his lip angrily, the match getting away from him, before he grabs Nakamura by the ankles and pulls him out, meeting him with an uppercut to the jaw, staggering Shinsuke. Throws him into the barricade wall before rolling back into the ring and posing braggadociously, laughing when the audience boos him.

Nakamura recovers quicker than Matt expects and returns to the ring, sending him crashing over with a knee to the sternum. Groaning, Taven rolls over and tries to get up just to get another knee to the face, causing him to hiss and scramble to the ropes where he leans, blinking blurrily. He acts on instinct, gripping Nakamura's leg and tugging him into the turnbuckle pads, giving him time to recover, get to his feet. He lands a dropkick to Shinsuke's back, sending him crashing to the mat, and Matt goes to the top, splashes down heavily and covers Nakamura, holding his breath- Nakamura kicks out at 2, but it's the beginning of his downfall. When he struggles to his feet, he's staggered, barely able to keep his feet under him and Matt locks his arm in place before driving his head into the mat, rolling him into a more thorough pinning attempt that works this time, the three count sounding gorgeous to Matt's ears. "Finally," he breathes out, pushing Shinsuke away and lifting his arms up in celebration.

Chad Gable and Dante Fox put on a ridiculously intense, mess of a match that goes all over the place before Chad bridges Dante into a pin after one of his suplexes, successfully defeating him. Pentagon Dark ends Naito's winning streak, and next up is an elimination tag match pitting Dezmond Xavier and Braun Strowman against Baron Corbin and TK O"Ryan. Baron struggles against Braun for awhile, just to get him down after a lucky boot glances off of his skull just right to stagger him for the End of Days, downing him, and TK helps by keeping his legs down out of the ref's point of sight so that he can't kick out, Baron successfully pinning him. TK is quickly eliminated by Xavier, but then Baron boots him and pins him as well to win the match.

Brian Kendrick looks unbothered as he leans against the ropes, watching Johnny Mundo's entrance with the lights and the slo-mo and the flowing hair. He mockingly tosses his own hair over his shoulder, sneering when Mundo seems unimpressed. They fall right into it, brutal blows and kicks, Brian trying to get John early with submissions or maybe snag him into a plancha or suplex, something simple but effective... but Mundo is better than Brian remembers, responding to each move of his with one of his own, leaving Brian on the ropes, teetering towards failure more and more with each moment... his kicks sharp, effective, kneeing Brian in the face and leaving him gasping for air, suplexing him down onto the mat before going to the top rope for his End of the World... just for the crowd to let their disapproval of something be known, Brian blinking in time to find his colleague- friend?- Jack Gallagher at ring side, spinning his umbrella on one finger coolly as he stares at Johnny, the referee rebuking him. It's enough for Brian to get to his feet, grab John and send him off of the top in a superplex, Brian's knees digging into Mundo's side on the way down and making the landing even more brutal. He rolls into a pin and squeezes his eyes shut, amazed when it works- the three count happens and Brian laughs happily, rolling out of the ring in time to be met by a pleased smirk on Jack's face.

He raises his arms in victory but stays at ring side because next is Jack's match against Vinnie Marseglia and he figures he may as well return the favor, not that Jack will need his help against the man. All it takes is a well placed headbutt, and Vinnie quickly fades when Jack locks in a guillotine choke, grinding him down until he's limp and useless, the referee calling the match and awarding the win to Jack. Brian laughs, not surprised, and returns the favor by lifting Jack's hand in success, the two of them smirking out at the displeased crowd before making their way backstage.


	99. chapter 99

With Shane back, Daniel gratefully bows out of booking Team Work that week, relieved to put his focus on the next few weeks to keep Smackdown as strong as possible for their showdown against Raw. Likewise, Shane is just as thrilled to be back, ghosting his fingers over the surfaces of his office before getting to work on the night's card, lips twitching up into a happy smile when the matches come together easily enough.

Shortly after he makes the card official, taping a list of the matches to the wall by gorilla, he pauses and looks pointedly at the Raw competitors who pile around to check their matches. No one looks too bothered by his presence and he hopes that no one tries anything as comeuppance for Monday.

To their credit, the first match, a triple threat pitting Sasha Banks vs Naomi vs Mickie James goes smoothly... so smoothly, in fact, that after Sasha gets tossed from the ring, Naomi actually defeats Mickie James with a split legged moonsault after downing her with a dropkick. Riding momentum after defeating Baron Corbin by countout the week prior, Sin Cara holds his own and even eakes out a victory against Mil Muertes, who seems as distracted as Katrina on the outside, her eyes elsewhere as she fails to instruct him in what to do, the chunk of rock generally used to control him remaining down, out of sight the entire match, allowing Sin Cara to land a sentom bomb, winding Muertes long enough for the pin. Taya walks out the victor against Alexa Bliss, laughing after withstanding all of her offense just to land a northern light's suplex and landing boots from the top before pinning her, mocking her fake-crying as she makes her way up the ramp, Alexa watching her go with a dazed look on her face, still unable to believe whenever she actually loses.

The crowd buzzes as an elimination chamber is lowered into place, pods flashing with light before falling dark, waiting for their entrants. Who quickly come, Jason Jordan, Titus O'Neil, Dean Ambrose and Dave Crist filling them up. Mark Briscoe comes to the ring, looking confident and smug until Matanza ends up being the second person to start the match. It goes very quick, Mark's attempt at redneck kungfu not enough to keep Matanza down, the monster quickly slamming him down, splashing down upon him and pinning him. He then paces the ring hungrily, eager for his next bout of destruction, head twisting this way and that as he waits for the first pod to open. Titus O'Neil steps out gingerly but gets caught as soon as his feet touch the mat, Matanza brutalizing him in very similar ways as he'd just done to Mark, pinning him in even faster time.

Dean is freed next and he does hold his own for awhile, bobs and weaves, avoiding Matanza for as long as he could- until Jason is released, the two of them working together to corner Matanza. He roars free, however, hitting bone rattling forearms on both of them at once, but when he turns to Dean, preparing to finish him off, Jason recovers and gets behind him, gripping him around the waste and tugging him up into a suplex, bridging into a pin that gets him a two. Dean hits Dirty Deeds and they exchange glances, this becoming a matter of survivorability more than ego, both diving on top of him and trying to pin him down with their combined body weights. It's still not enough as he sends them flying with a flail of a kick out, both men struggling to recover enough to get back to their feet. They breathe a little easier when Dave Crist joins them, landing a diving stomp before anyone could really react to his joining. Matanza roars at having _three_ opponents now and immediately grabs Dean before he can land another strike, slamming him down.

Jason runs forward just to get slammed over the ropes to the unyielding cage on the outside, Dave quickly following. They can do nothing but watch as Dean is eliminated, exchanging fretful glances. Scrambles back into the ring and works together, Jason landing another suplex and holding on as Dave gets to the top, diving off to plant his boots into Matanza's chest once more. Jason holds the bridge, pleading for it to be over... just to gasp in relief when the referee counts the three, motioning to the outside that Matanza is eliminated. Dave then tries to sneak a move on Jason but Jason moves quickly, bridging into another suplex that leaves Dave motionless, easily eliminated. Jason laughs and poses in victory on the top rope, relieved that this is over, the elimination chamber bad enough on its own without including a monster like Matanza to the frightening equation.

Tag matches follow this, Rich Swann and Braun Strowman teaming up against Rhett Titus and Kenny Omega. Strowman is visibly weakened after the PPV but he holds his own, pounds both Rhett and Omega into the mat before leaning against the ropes, watching with a displeased glower as Swann finishes off Rhett, pinning him. His celebration is cut off short when Braun storms towards him, Rich wisely rolling out of the ring and holding his arms up in what he clearly hopes is a calming motion, walking backwards up the ramp to the relative safety of the back. Asuka and Bayley then team up against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, the two tea drinkers unable to get any significant offense in thanks to Asuka, taking Becky out with a spin kick, sending her staggering into Bayley for a belly to bayley suplex, but Charlotte loses track of things then when she dashes at Asuka and succeeds at sending them both out of the ring. She pounds the mat when she hears the three count over her head, the bell ringing before Bayley's music begins echoing through the arena. "Dammit!" she bemoans the loss, rolling in to grab her best friend and pulling her out of the ring.

The main event is a fifteen man battle royal, the ring already filling up with competitors. The bell's barely rang before people are being thrown out, Cedric Alexander, Will Ferarra and Apollo Crews already teetering dangerously. It's Johnny Mundo out first, however, Seth Rollins strongarming him up and over and then landing a knee over the top rope to daze him enough to let go of the ropes and drop, his face smarting. Dezmond Xavier quickly joins him, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn working together to clear the ring of more guys, Apollo Crews and Jake Crist following momentarily. Enzo Amore is prancing, taunting various guys, just for Alexander to grab him. He sputters, voice still woefully gone, and struggles, digging his thumb into Cedric's eye and getting pushed into the ropes for his troubles.

He doesn't have time to recover or move away before Marty Scurll is there, kicking him clean out of the ring, Will Ferarra pushing him the rest of the way to the mat below. Kevin and Sami suddenly find themselves overwhelmed by Seth Rollins and Kurt Angle, trying to fight free, get to each other to work more solidly as a unit when Angle grabs Sami and slams him clean over the ropes, sending him tumbling to the outside. "NO!" Kevin roars, diving straight for Angle just to get a solid elbow by Seth, dazing him further as he staggers back against the ropes. He recovers, however, and lifts a foot, booting Seth in the side of the face, barely registering as Ziggler is eliminated next, Finn Balor slinging him over after he tries to clothesline the other man out of the ring.

Despite his best effort, Kevin has no chance against both Seth and Angle and finds himself on the floor after a few more moments of defense against Angle's strikes, Seth's knee his death knell eventually as well. MArty Scurll quickly follows but he doesn't hang around, staggering up the ramp to get away, check on Sami. Prince Puma is eliminated by a snapping dropkick from Finn that sends him nearly flying away from the ring, landing with a solid thump just short of the metal ramp, Finn following this up by abruptly eliminating Seth, sending him sailing over the top rope when Seth dashed at him and couldn't stop himself before Finn got a shoulder under him and sent him up and over, landing a spinkick to the side of Seth's face that caused his grip to slacken before he falls to the floor next to Puma.

Will Ferarra eliminates Cedric Alexander just to get taken out by Pentagon Dark alongside Finn, the two of them struggling to their feet and gaping at the ring as everyone hushes, realizing. Pentagon Dark and Kurt Angle are the only two remaining. The two men circle each other, Angle inclining his head curiously. Pentagon's first attack is a brutal punch, rocking Angle back, but he gives as good as he gets and the two men brawl back and forth for awhile, the audience hissing as Pentagon eventually sends Angle down to his knees, hoisting him up for his spike piledriver. Angle, to his credit, recovers fast enough from the move, struggling to his feet and landing a brutal dropkick that sends Pentagon back.

They soon are brawling by the ropes, both trying to throw the other over, but neither are quick willing to go. Then Pentagon grabs Angle's arm, twisting it up and to the side like he wants to break it now, instead of waiting until the match ends. Angle immediately stomps, sending Pentagon Dark scattering away as he wiggles his probably broken toes in his boots. He holds his arms up in supplication before approaching, a calculating look just visible under his mask. He grabs Angle and strongarms him, then. Uses their age difference and Angle's ring rust against him, powering him into another spike piledriver before hoisting him and thowing him out, listening with some muted satisfaction as he walks out the victor against one of those wrestlers so many people idolized when young. He smirks and lifts his arm in victory before making his way backstage, never the type to loiter longe than necessary. He pauses on the ramp and stares at Angle, taking him in, weighing his decisions.

It'd be so easy to go snap his wrist but for now, Pentagon decides to leave him alone. _For now._


	100. chapter 100

Shane is almost painfully busy. Between Survivor Series looming and plotting further sieges by the Smackdown roster, it's nice to sit down and turn his attention to Team Work for awhile. Especially when the card is as easy to book as it is tonight.

The first match is an elimination tag match pitting Ethan Carter III and Cody against Jay Lethal and AJ Styles. None of them are too bothered by their opponents, EC3 and Cody laughing derisively at Lethal and AJ, who are conversing in the corner, keeping an eye on the other two men until the bell rings. Jay starts the match against Cody, Jay letting his disdain for the current ROH champion show in every bit of offense, every twist of attempted submission holds. Eventually Cody writhes free after a thumb to the eye and dives, tagging Ethan in, his expression far from impressed as AJ enters the ring.

He's met with a hiptoss, AJ digging into his shoulder and Ethan hisses, trying to reach the rope just for AJ to drag him back out and kick him hard between the shoulderblades, Ethan arching away from him with gritted teeth. AJ continues the attack, however, targetting his upper back and neck area, weakening him up for either Styles Clash or Lethal Injection, and Ethan snarls, finally making it back to his feet and landing a solid punch that sends AJ rocking back, giving Ethan the space to get more offense in, eventually slamming AJ over in a brutally jarring belly to back suplex. He then scrambles over and tags in Cody, leaning against the ropes and trying to ease some of the pain in his back, watching as AJ meets Cody with a Phenomenal Forearm as soon as he enters the ring, held up by the ropes a bit. After a quick tag, Jay grabs Cody, lands a series of strikes and kicks until leaving him dazed in the middle of the ring, slinging forward and hitting the Lethal Injection that was probably intended for Ethan, dropping down on top of him.

Ethan glowers at his two opponents, arguing with the referee how this isn't fair, ignoring that it's the rules of the match as Jay and AJ smirk at him. He twitches angrily and lands a dropkick as Jay approaches him, flapjacking him down and digging a knee into his mid-back, grinding down with as much pressure as he can manage, Jay struggling to roll away and finally managing it, kicking Ethan hard in the chest, then side of the face just to get more distance. He gets to his feet and immediately is met with a sharp fist to the side of the head, dazing him further. Ehtan continues to abuse him with open palm strikes and kicks before Jay finds enough strength to knee Ethan in the face during one of these advances, stumbling back to his corner and tagging AJ in. AJ's like a house on fire, sending Ethan down with forearms repeatedly before finally hoisting him up and over, slamming him down to the mat and crossbodying him once he gets back to his feet.

The crowd is fully behind Jay and AJ but Ethan isn't ready to give up that quickly so when AJ tries to hoist him up for a Styles Clash, he uses his dense body weight to slide the momentum forward and lands hard on top of AJ, winding him. Getting to his feet, Ethan grips him by his hair and tugs him upright, ignoring the referee's rebukes before easing forward, gripping AJ by the side of the head and slamming him down in a 1%er, sneering as Jay lets the pin happen, all aware of the rules of an elimination tag match. Only the person managing a successful final pin gets the point for the cycle. No more, no less. Both men determined to put their name on the score board, they circle each other for a moment before meeting in the middle of the ring, renewed aggression and anger fueling them as they exchange punches, forearms and every other nasty thing possible.

Ethan tries for a facebuster but Lethal reverses it into a suplex, getting enough space to go up for a diving elbow drop, winding Ethan. Once he staggers up, Lethal meets him with the Lethal Injection, pinning him for the first official win of the night.

There's a chain of singles match after this, Kalisto eaking out a victory against Naito, Randy Orton defeating Cedric Alexander after he gets cocky one time too many and leaves himself vulnerable to a snap RKO in the middle of the ring, no hope to kick out or get to the rope to break it up. Jake Crist pins Chad Gable, and Dean Ambrose takes out Dave Crist.

Becky Lynch finds herself partnering with Alicia Fox against Asuka. The two women stare at each other, distrust and uncertainty in their eyes, but Asuka is such a brutal entity that they realize they need to work together and quickly just to survive, breaking up pins and submissions as needed, ignoring Asuka's dementedly happy face as she piles on more and more pain and injuries to their already taxed bodies. The two opposing Survivor Series captains eventually find themselves gaining ground, Becky's brutal elbows followed by Alicia's reckless kicks and knees downing Asuka. Alicia lands a brutal spin kick, followed by Becky locking in the disarmer, and Alicia helps keep Asuka away from the ropes, Asuka's former collerbone injury clearly causing her to not be at the top of her game. Again. When she taps, both women seem to exchange a sigh of relief before rolling out to the ramp, eager to leave the angry woman they'd just beat together behind. Tomorrow, they'll go back to being rivals. Today, however, they share surviving such a brutal woman so they meet halfway in a high five that makes Becky grin and Alicia giggle.

Rich Swann beats Garza Jr and Kane wrecks Trevor Lee with a chokeslam and tombstone. Metalik manages the near impossible and wins against James Storm, followed by Mustafa Ali eaking out a win in an Ultimate X match against Johnny Mundo, Kushida and Eddie Edwards, the three men watching in shock as he walks out with the bright X of victory held over his head.

As the main event is announced, Seth Rollins enters the ring, rolling his wrists, trying to limber up. Shelton Benjamin is not an easy opponent and this is proven when he has Seth down on the mat almost as soon as the bell rings, twisting at his bad knee, trying to further damage his weakened limb. Seth immediately kicks out with his good leg and sends Benjamin flying away from him, seething in anger as he rotates his knee, relieved to find the pain manageable- the weakness barely there. He hits every move he can think of- knees, elbows, even lands a few slightly illegal fists to Shelton's gut, letting out his anger at both being targetted for his knee injury and for everything Kane's put them through the last few weeks. Roman's illness. Everything. His thoughts, his worries, his fears make him sloppy, however, and he finds himself being suplexed- again, and again, and again. Scrambles away, leans against the ropes to catch his breath and meets an approaching Shelton with two knees to the face.

Shelton scrubs at his face, trying to refocus, but it's all downhill from there- whatever little bits of offense he gets in, Seth manages to use to his advantage, twisting the momentum for his own purposes until finally he grips Shelton's wrist after an attempt at a clothesline and sends him flying into his waiting knee, rolling Shelton up for the win. As he stands up in victory, he smirks and nods his appreciation to the crowd, those who forgave and stood behind him once more when he accepted how badly he'd deviated from the man he used to be- the man he wanted to be once more. "Thank you," he mouths to each of them before turning to head up the ramp, catch up with Dean.


	101. chapter 101

A lot has changed just in the last few days, especially regarding the Survivor Series card. New champions, different matches, on and on. So many shake-ups that Shane is having trouble digesting it all, running a finger down the list of names available to him for Team Work. He's too distracted to properly throw a card together, but manages it just under the wire, putting the card out where the various wrestlers can read it in time to prepare for their upcoming matches.

The night starts off with Kalisto eaking out the victory in a six man match after landing a Salida del Sol on Jake Crist, Heath Slater trying to beat the count in time to break the pin, but failing as Trevor Lee, King Mo and Dezmond Xavier continue brawling on the outside, getting in the way of his forward momentum and leaving him sprawled out by the apron, unable to do anything but watch as Kalisto's hand is raised in victory.

Wanting to test herself one final time, Gail Kim eagerly accepts having a gauntlet match, one final way to prove herself before retiring. She succeeds against first Allie then Alexa Bliss, but Asuka gives her more of a challenge than she'd expected it... and before Gail could fully figuring out a gameplan against the brutal, crafty woman, she finds herself staring at the lights, Asuka laughing in her ear as she pins her. Gail struggles to her feet, gripping the ropes, and stares at Asuka in awed respect, holding her hand out to the woman. Asuka tilts her head left, then right, before smiling in a creepy fashion and meeting Gail half-way, shaking her hand before prancing her way out of the ring, up the ramp.

Following this is a twelve man battle royal, Matt Taven accompanying TK O'Ryan while the rest of the ring fills up- Johnny Mundo, Yuji Okaboyashi, Dave Crist, Abyss, Moose, Rusev, Lashley, Kane, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles and Ricochet rounding out the rest of the match. TK is smart, listens to Matt's suggestions. As soon as the bell rings, he takes a vague right cross from Kane and immediately crumbles, hitting the mat and rolling away, Taven keeping a close eye on things happening in the ring for him. A few of the wrestlers group together and kick Kane out first, Matt skittering away to the other side before Kane could get any evil ideas, Ricochet and AJ Styles eliminated almost at the same time by Lashley and Moose. Mundo is sent soaring out next, followed by Bobby Roode and Dave Crist, Matt worrying that TK could lay out of sight until the end of time, it won't be enough to outlast Lashley or Moose's rampage.

Until Abyss surprises everyone and grabs Lashley, all but Black Hole Slamming him clean out of the ring. Moose is yelling at him when both men side step instinctively, Yuji basically sending himself over and out thanks to his forward momentum. Abyss and Moose are still arguing, close to blows, when Rusev sneaks up behind them and sends them up and over, eliminating both at once. He laughs, arms outstretched. "Rusev Day is-" But he never finishes _what_ his made-up, never ending holiday is as TK returns and tips Rusev up and over, sending him crashing down close to where Matt's standing. He laughs, unbothered by the man's frustration and anger, before rolling into the ring and lifting TK's hand in victory. "Kingdom, baby, yes!" he calls out, sneering at all of the doubters and haters.

Next up is an Elimination match, Miz starting it off with Vinnie Marseglia with Eddie Edward, Finn Balor, James Storm and Chris Sabin in the pods. Mike and Vinnie feel each other out slowly, Vinnie's craziness leaving Miz cautious, careful. He thinks he's just figured out what to do to get the upperhand against the wildcard of the Kingdom when the countdown begins and... Finn enters. He lays waste to both men quickly, derailing either of their plans, sending Vinnie over into the harsh mesh wiring on the outside before sending Mike down with a brutal kick, scrambling up the top rope and hitting Coup de Grace, eliminating Miz first. Vinnie goes next, and then Finn paces until James enters, followed by Sabin when Balor's attempt to clearing out the chamber proves fruitless. The three of them fight and eventually Sabin hits a Cradle Shock on James, pinning him just to get stomped in the chest before he can even recover enough to regain his feet, Balor immediately sweeping him over for a three count of his own. This leaves Eddie and they face off, Eddie's eyebrows raised in challenge. They exchange blows and kicks, both fighting for the upperhand, when Balor falters after Eddie strikes hard between his shoulderblades, staggering Balor and leaving him vulnerable- Eddie takes advantage, hoists him around and lands a solid Die Hard Flowsion, claiming the win for himself.

Heath, still cranky after his earlier loss, accompanies Rhyno to the ring for his match against Eli Drake. Eli is yelling at him, rambling about something pointless, when the bell rings. It's between one blink and the next that Rhyno charges forward, almost goring Eli clean out of his shoes before dropping down and pinning him as smooth and as quick as anything. Heath stares at him incredulously before bursting out laughing. "Was that some kinda record?!"

Rhyno shrugs. "I dunno, but that win was dedicated to you," he says in his stoic, calm way as Heath flushes and grins widely, clapping Rhyno on the back.

Alex Shelley defeats Ryusuke Tagachi, and Shinsuke Nakamura picks up the win in a six man tag team match, neither Ethan Carter III or Raymond Rowe looking thrilled at not getting points but not as nearly disappointed as the losing team of Cody, Hanson and Samoa Joe.

The main event pits Rosemary against Nia Jax. The crowd whispers and buzzes as the two women stare at each other, Nia seemingly unaffected by Rosemary's appearance and abilties as the lights flicker around them, Rosemary's lips parting in a malicious kind of smirk. Nia is clearly underclassed early, even her size not enough to help against Rosemary's supernatural fueled strength. Although Nia hits her usual powerful moves, it never seems enough to keep the other woman down, her body appearing boneless as she regroups after every strike, slithering up to her feet every time. After a few of these, Nia grows frustrated and tries to slam Rosemary down but even that doesn't cause her to flinch. She laughs and makes a "come hither" motion to Nia, who steps forward as though she has no choice but to respond, just to get a face full of mist, Rosemary laughing when the referee rebukes her, just to lose interest after a few moments, all thoughts about a disqualification leaving him.

The mist leaves Nia dazed, unable to defend herself, face tinted an interesting yellow shade, so Rosemary lands a rough roundhouse kick, staggering her into the corner, before following it up with forearm smashes that leave Nia leaning against the ropes, struggling to catch her breath. The Red Wedding would ordinarily be a difficult move to manage thanks to Nia's size, but Rosemary focuses all of her strength, grips the dazed woman and uses her limp form against her, sending her crashing down face first into the mat before pinning her, cackling as soon as the win is officially hers. She smirks and spins in a circle, taking in the crowd's awed response, before spinning out of the ring and towards the back, pleased at bringing another point back for her Hivelings.


	102. chapter 102

Stephanie rolls her eyes hard. Her brother's had her show for the last few months, sometimes giving it to Angle, sometimes to Daniel. Now she's back, finally, and... my God, everything's a mess. Her brother's organization skills have always been disgusting, his handwriting mere scribbles. She's sorely tempted to take the papers all over the office and throw them out, but there's only one week left in this cycle, and then they can start from the beginning. This alone makes her power through, shaking her head at her brother not doing due dilligence with this. "Too busy thinking about the next thing he's going to jump off," she mutters in frustration, scratching this name off, adding to that one. "Survivor Series in a week and he's done nothing to address this list." She rolls her eyes and gets up, smoothing her skirt under her as she goes to do just that.

Watching the various competitors' faces fall always gives her a bit of a thrill and she then shoos them on to continue with the show, heading for the door. This is, she's figured out, where Shane would normally enter, and she can hear him out there, argung with security. It makes her laugh even more, his voice rising, then falling as realization hits him and he finally leaves. She presses her fingers to her lips, laughing all the more, but now it's time for the show to start and she's not really interested in anything she's booked, so she half-listens as match after match passes by. Most won't affect the scoring anyway because she's removed the people who can't affect the higher scoring people.

First up is an elimination match, Sami Callihan fighting Sheamus before tagging in Suzuki, who takes out Kenny King almost effortlessly. Sheamus lands a solid brogue kick and eliminates Sami a few minutes later, then gets wrecked and pinned by Suzuk, slamming his fist against the mat at this abrupt loss. Cesaro defeats EVIL, and AJ Styles takes out Trent Beretta within minutes. Punishment Martinez gets the win against BUSHI, and in a five woman Ultimate X match, Bayley continues her momentum by sneaking past Asuka, who is brawling with Becky Lynch, and Sasha, whose hands are full with Allie, climbing to the crisscrossing ropes overhead and grabs the winning letter before shimmying back down and out, shrugging when Sasha gapes incredulously at her.

SANADA walks out the winner against Chuck Taylor, and Matt Sydal leaves Pete Dunne laying after a series of high flying moves leaves him unable to kick out. Eddie Edwards wins against Kofi Kingston, shattering his momentum after defeating Sami Zayn the week prior.

Stephanie _does_ watch the main event for the evening, not quite done proving a point to Kurt about his son. Has placed Jason Jordan is a 3 on 1 handicapped match, watching as the Crist brothers and Randy Orton enter the ring, circling the hurting, anxious man with predatory looks on their faces. There's no way to recover, he's already hurting, and then Orton attacks in his cold, concise way, and the brothers follow his lead, kicking and punching, lifting Jason up with his arms pinned behind his back to continue hurting him until he's slumped in Dave's arms. "Let him go!" Orton snaps, moving to RKO him... but Jason recovers, suplexes Orton and does the same to Jake and Dave, immediately crumpling down and hugging his stomach in agony. Nothing is as it should be, he knows this. He should still beo n Smackdown with Chad, but... this time with his father after so many years of not knowing where he came from meant a lot, and he thought it idid for Kurt too until the past week. He's still trying to fight when Orton dropkicks him, killing all of his momentum.

Every punch, every blow leaves him curling in on himself but it's not enough to spare him from the brutal weight of Dave's boots stomping down against the side of his face before Jake piledrives him down into the mat, Dave scrambling over to cover him, the subsequent three count that eventually registers with him and leaves him feeling utterly useless, stumbling backstage with no lack of self-disgust and pain on his face. It's almost enough to make Stephanie's professional visage crack as the camera catches one last glimpse of him before he disappears past the curtain.


	103. chapter 103

Stephanie smirks. Yes, Braun had snapped and attacked HHH, but all in all, Survivor Series was perfect. Raw demolished Smackdown, HHH had taught both Kurt _and_ Shane a lesson, and now... now she's stretched out in her office, watching the last round of matches for this cycle of Team Work.

To annoy him and to amuse herself, she'd placed Braun Strowman in an Ultimate X match against Garza Jr, Dezmond Xavier, Jey Uso, Dean Ambrose and Enzo Amore. The smaller competitors all gang up on Braun at first, trying to eliminate him, but it doesn't work as he powers through and sends them flying, most scattering clean out of the ring in an attempt to catch their breath. Braun snarls down as Dean and Jey choose to remain outside, insults and yelling growing into full on brawling as Enzo, Garza Jr and Dezmond try to go in to deal with Braun on their own. This goes about as well as can be expected, all three men hitting against the turnbuckles hard. Braun grabs Garza and starts to slam him around, Enzo looking up at the post over his head, gingerly trying to climb. Dezmond stirs next and starts to climb up as well, the two of them working across the ring over Braun while he's distracted with Garza Jr.

Enzo's just touched the winning X with his fingers when Braun looks up, catching his eye. He yelps and grabs wildly at the item but Braun is already lumbering towards the turnbuckle, climbing up it and grabbing the ropes, tugging on it to try to climb. "AH HELL!" Enzo yells loudly, everything shifting around him. "Nope, no, ain't doin' this-" He drops, leaving Dezmond to deal with Braun's ridiculous strength, the loss of his weight enough to make the ropes snap entirely. As the X falls to the mat below, Enzo scrambles to grab at it but Dezmond drops and lands next to the X, grabbing it and standing up with it in hand, Enzo quickly backtracking and leaving as Braun looms over Dezmond, grabbing him and tossing him roughly, making him pay quickly for this brief success.

The next match pits Kushida against EC3 and Kushida wins after fighting out of a 1%er and landing a buzzsaw kick to his skull, following it up with a corkscrew moonsault and pinning him for the win. In the first Beat the Clock match of the night, Samoa Joe defeats Ryusuke Taguchi in 3:18.

Baron Corbin finds himself in a handicapped match against Dalton Castle and Jason Jordan, finding himself trapped between suplexes between the men, the two of them constantly tagging in and out to keep the upperhand against him. Which lasts for awhile until Corbin lands a solid kick on Jason's bad knee, sending him crashing to the mat as Dalton tries to get in to help, just for Baron to slam him off of the apron, rolling out long enough to kick him and throw him into the barricade wall before going in to finish off Jason with the End of Days.

Kevin Owens walks to the ring, rolling his wrists and shifting around a little, trying to stay focused and calm as he waits for his opponent, staring ahead blankly as HHH's music starts to play. They eye each other, HHH sneering at him. He tries to finish it as soon as the bell rings but Owens avoids his knee and punches him repeatedly, getting some space between them. When HHH runs back at him, he hoists him up and sidewalk slams him, before going up for a moonsault. HHH moves and he lands hard, taking a knee to the back and writhing away before HHH could follow up with something worse. They regroup, glaring at each other, and finally Owens gets all the way to his feet, lunging at HHH and forcing him up, pop up powerbombing him to the mat below. HHH kicks out, however, and Owens grits his teeth in disbelief, lifting him up once more... just to get punched in the head, dropping HHH. He moves to kick him in the head but HHH scrambles up, knees Owens in the head and leans against the ropes to catch his breath while his opponent is dazed.

They glare at each other before the action begins again, Owens getting dazed further with a forearm and taking a solid kick to the stomach, hovering while HHH moves into position for the pedigree. But he doesn't get it, Owens getting his shoulder under and hoisting HHH up, slamming him over his shoulder. Turns and grabs HHH, getting him up once more for another pop up powerbomb, this time his pin successful as he defeats HHH, laughing mockingly at the crowd's disbelief.

In the next Beat the Clock match, Santana defeats Samoa Joe's time by defeating Ricochet in 2:48, and JImmy Uso wins against Shane Taylor.

For the first time ever, there's a mixed tag match pitting Bayley and Sonjay Dutt against Asuka and Homicide, who raises an eyebrow at his partner, intrigued as Asuka prances out, biting at her mask before throwing her flowing kimono away and entering the ring, staring their opponents down. Homicide and Dutt brawl back and forth, finally falling out of the ring once Bayley tags in, facing off with Asuka, who has the early advantage, taking her down quickly with brutal kicks and forearms... just for Bayley to use Asuka's brief distraction from Homicide throwing Dutt into the ring by grabbing her around the waist and slinging her back in a Bayley to Belly suplex, floating over into a pin. Asuka kicks out but Bayley hasn't lost her determination, ducking Asuka's strikes and kicks before getting her hands on her again, landing an exploder suplex into the corner before climbing up to the top once more and landing a diving elbow drop, her lips parting in shock as she achieves the pin, officially getting the first win against Asuka since she signed with WWE. As she runs up the ramp, hugging everyone who looks as excited as she feels, Homicide and Dutt stare at each other, perplexed at how sudden it'd all ended.

Inspired by Becky Lynch getting a match against James Ellsworth Charlotte finds herself in the ring opposite Sami Zayn, not even flinching away from the suggestion when Stephanie had run it by her earlier in the evening. Sami gets the upperhand a couple of times, but Charlotte keeps fighting back and eventually lands a hard enough elbow to the bridge of his nose that he crashes hard to the mat and she prances a bit, dedicating this to her father as always, before landing a knee drop that leaves Sami writhing and struggling just for her to twist him into position for the Figure Eight, realizing how quickly time is slipping away. She gets him up, but before he can tap, the last few seconds slip away, the match ends with Santana continuing to uphold his earlier time. She sighs and kicks Sami away before getting to her feet, hands on her hips as she frowns. _So close..._

The main event is a six man match, Roman Reigns looking unimpressed as he exchanges glances with his partners, Ortiz and Eli Drake looking as thrilled as he feels. Especially when he looks across the ring to find Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins and Matt Taven waiting. Seth and he stare at each other, both silently agreeing. _Dammit, Stephanie._ The match begins, Matt Taven and Ortiz fighting for awhile before Lesnar gets tired of watching and tags himself in, decimating Ortiz early. He all but suplexes him out of the room and Roman quickly tags in, stepping up against Brock. Brock is clearly disinterested, barely flinching when Roman punches him, grabbing him and moving to suplex him just for Roman to fight free with an elbow. He lunges forward with a superman punch but Brock brushes away his follow up spear, pacing around before Seth tags in and faces off with his brother, a tense, distant look on his face.

Roman makes a face at him but then they lunge, punching at each other. They're even for a few moments until Seth dashes against the ropes, gaining momentum, and lands a hard knee against Roman's cheek, sending him stumbling backwards, Neither of them can finish what they've started as Eli Drake and Matt Taven both tag themselves back in, Ortiz still recovering on the outside, Brock's jaw working angrily as he glares at Seth for his earlier actions. Eli gets the best of Taven earlier, leaving him rocked in the corner, but then Ortiz hops up onto the apron and tags himself in before Eli can follow up, running forward and hitting a cannonball on Matt before powerbombing him down and pinning him. Eli doesn't care enough to break it up and Roman is too focused on Lesnar and Seth glaring at each other on the other side of the ring to really notice. Thankfully once the match ends, Paul Heyman manages to get Brock to ease up, leave Seth alone, and Seth and Roman meet up at the bottom of the ramp, slapping fists before they go backstage to hear the results of the cycle now that it's officially over.

Stephanie looks far from impressed as she peers at the small group of people around her. "Dean Ambrose," she says coolly, handing him over a contract granting him permission for a title match anywhere, at any time, he so chooses. She closes herself up in her officeas Seth and Roman lunge forward and hug Dean enthusiastically, slapping him on the back and being generally loud and happy as the others slowly leave back the ways they'd come, hoping for better luck with the next cycle.


	104. chapter 104

Still feeling warm and pleased after spending Thanksgiving with her family- even her brother, due to her father's insisting- Stephanie takes the week off of Raw. Turns her focus back onto Team Work, since it's the first week of the new cycle that will ride out until the Royal Rumble. Taps her fingernails against her tablet as she makes a list of the matches for the evening. Eventually content with her ideas, she goes to find Asuka. It's hard to miss the woman, her hair making it pretty clear where she's at at any given time. "Asuka, if I could have a word please," she calls out, the woman turning to smile creepily at her.

"Hai?"

"Hello. Yes, well, it ends up that you're the only woman I have booked for Team Work tonight. Would you be alright with being put into a match with men?" Stephanie blinks when Asuka's entire face lights up and she nods enthusiastically, grabbing Stephanie's hand and pumping it up and down as if Stephanie had just given her a huge gift. "Alright then. Well, have fun." Shaking her head at the crazy roster she has to take care of, she turns and walks back to her office, putting the card up for the night in its usual place.

The first match is a triple threat, Marty Scurll scowling even as he walks out victorious against Tanahashi and Hanson, only just surviving the brutality both men have to offer long enough to land Birds of Prey on Tanahashi while Hanson is struggling on the outside after getting dropkicked into the barricade wall. Rowe turns things around for War Machine by defeating Kenny Omega next, and Shelton Benjamin wins against Silas Young. Lance Archer then wrecks Sami, pinning him after a relatively short match. Hangman Page uses Roman Reign's recent illness and the matches he's competed in against Miz and Elias against him, finding all of his weak spots, his injuries and taking advantage of them, eventually dodging a spear and sending him face first into the turnbuckles before gripping him around the head and spiking him with a back-to-belly piledriver, immediately following it up with a standing shooting star press, the impact just enough to wind Roman and leave him unable to kick out, Page's smugness only growing as he absorbs that yes, he's beaten WWE's new intercontinental champion.

Rich Swann and Kevin Owens face off next but Owens is distracted after almost getting fired and makes enough mistakes that he misses a frog splash and Swann turns it around by landing a solid phoenix splash on him, pinning him. Eddie Edwards then defeats Samoa Joe after hitting a Shining Wizard and following it up with an Emerald Flosion, floating over into a pin before he could shake off the affects of the moves.

The main event is a ten man elimination match, Akira Tozawa, Davey Boy Smith Jr, Dean Ambrose, Nick Jackson and Asuka on one side of the ring with Harper, Rowan, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali and Matt Jackson scattered on the other. There are a lot of tags in and out, even Asuka getting in there and taking Mustafa Ali out when he hesitates over touching her. She's about to get really moving when Nick Jackson reaches in and tags himself in, Asuka glaring holes through him just for Tozawa to tag in a minute later, pissing Nick off. Matt Jackson makes him pay, Nick sneaking back in and the two of them hitting a quick superkick party on him before shifting into the Meltzer driver, Matt pinning him as Nick laughs at him from the apron, none of the others looking overly thrilled with the brothers breaking the rules to work together like this.

Matt tags Cedric in and smirks at him as he goes in against Asuka, the woman unimpressed by him as he too stalls over actually facing off with her. Because of this, she's able to get in a decent amount of offense in against him quickly, locking in her armbar before he's even prepared for the flurry. He tries to get to the ropes but she twists, kicks off of them and sends them both further away, causing him to writhe and struggle until finally he gives up, tapping out. Asuka laughs and pats his cheek condescendingly before letting him go, allowing him to roll out of the ring. She smirks when Matt Jackson enters but turns her back on him, disinterested as she tags in Davey Boy Smith Jr. The two men fight back and forth until Davey gets the advantage with a solid boot to the face that sends Matt down, Davey about to lift him up for the Bulldog Bomb when Nick enters, superkicks him and leaves him dazed enough for Matt to hit a diving somersault cutter, pinning him with Nick holding his feet down out of sight of the referee, keeping him from kicking out.

Nick stays in the ring and the brothers joke fight each other for awhile, before Harper, impatient and frustrated with their stupidity, tags in and eliminates Nick within minutes with a bone rattling bodyslam. Dean lunges in then and takes Harper out with rough fists, forearms and pure determination, finally landing a dirty deeds that leaves Harper prone, unable to respond in time when he's pinned. He repeats the action to Mustafa, eliminating him even quicker, but Rowan quickly takes him out, then Asuka when she enters the ring slowly, trying and failing to find a good strategy against him in time before he has her, slamming her down and pinning her.

Nick gulps when he realizes this means they're alone, trying to beg off- but there's no convincing Rowan to stop, and before he realizes what's happening, he's up in the air and then hitting the mat hard back first, getting eliminated, Rowan victorious over everyone else. He stares out passively over the crowd, disinterested in their hate, or anything else. All he wants is to inflict more destruction, more pain. He collects his things and goes back up the ramp to find Harper.


	105. chapter 105

Stephanie sighs. It's been frustrating, trying to put out all of these little fires caused by Angle, his son, that person, this person. She sits in her office and stares at the card for the night, annoyed. She has a feeling she knows how this event is going to go, and it grates at her, but she shuffles her papers around and calls a tech into her room, leaving him to distribute the match list as needed. As he scurries off, she stares moodily at the TV, waiting for the show to begin.

The first match is a tag team contest, pitting Samoa Joe and Alex Shelley vs Rich Swann and Matt Sydal. Joe's anger and disinterest in working together with Alex ruins whatever chance they may have had before the match really gets going, Swann and Sydal running circles around them, Swann diving onto Joe on the outside and giving Sydal enough time to land a 450 on Shelley and pin him for the win.

In the first Beat the Clock challenge of the night, Kazuchika Okada finds himself staring down Seth Rollins, the two men shifting, adjusting wrist tape, stretching out where necessary. When the bell rings and they lock up, it's immediately tense, the two of them almost evenly matched in strength, endurance, everything. The match is a slow burn, the crowd getting more and more vocal and into it as the two men ease away from feeling each other out and moving into brutality, knees and elbows turning into the dangerous dives and piledrivers that both men are known for. Eventually, the crowd starts holding their breath, watching the men. All have forgotten about the clock except for the two men in the ring, every attempt to hit the flying knee, or the Rainmaker, batted away. Frustration starts to rise in both men, Seth moving faster to keep up with Okada's fresh transition from one move to the next- when Okada dazes Seth with a forearm, leaving him struggling for each breath... when Okada grips his wrist, slings him forward, just for Seth to shake the fog away and duck the Rainmaker, slinging against the rope and coming back, gripping Okada's wrist and dragging him in, feeling his knee crack against Okada's face.

5:28 isn't the best time, but considering, Seth's relieved just to have survived long enough to get the win.

Marty Scurll defeats Xavier Woods, and in the second Beat the Clock challenge of the night, neither James Storm or Rowan manage to beat Seth's time, the clock running out before either of them could find any significant kind of offense against the other. In a move purely meant to appease her temper, Stephanie is forced to watch as her thought backfires and Roman Reigns runs roughshod in a gauntlet match against Harper, Will Ospreay, Kofi Kingston and Naito, defeating all of them in varying amount of time.

As if that's not bad enough, Seth sweeps the Beat the Clock, maintaining his time as Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan fail to work together fast enough to defeat Laurel Van Ness within Seth's time. In six man action that's all over the place, Flip Gordon and Chris Sabin exchanging blows while Johnny Mundo and AJ Styles make the most of their time in the ring by using every possible surface to propel their offense, and Kevin Owens and Sami Callihan act like they want to murder each other, it's Sabin who gets the pin on Flip after taking advantage of Mundo's End of the World to sneak a tag and steal the pin, Mundo still catching his breath and gaping on in disbelief when he realizes what just happened. There's no time to get revenge, however, because Sabin is up and gone before Mundo can grab him, his anger growing as he glares up the ramp at the man.

THe final match of the night is a mixed tag turmoil match, Sarah Logan finding herself partnering up with Bray Wyatt against Asuka and Taiji Ishimori. He laughs softly at her, a maddened look in his dark eyes, and she swallows, trying not to be too intimidated by him. Or by the equally as disturbing look on Asuka's face across the ring. Bray starts off, to her relief, making _fast_ work of Ishimori. Blocks him once, then shifts back and lands a solid Sister Abigail, planting the man and eliminating him from the match immediately, Asuka slinking into the ring without even a glimmer of worry on her face. Which proves to be just as well because Sarah leans in and tags herself in, Bray scrutinizing her as he slips behind the ropes, watching the two women circle each other.

Sarah knows she has no real chance against someone like Asuka, but she has to try- just to find herself quickly flipped, locked in Asuka's armbar, pain surging up her arm, down her chest at the pressure being applied. Oh, she tries to free herself, but there's just no way for her to get free, to fight back. So she taps in disgust, rolling out of the ring and watching as Asuka and Bray eye each other, both with demented grins on their faces. Asuka lands a solid strike against Bray, his head whipping back while his dreads go every which ways, his laughter rumbling out of him like a skipping record, and Asuka is standing there, coiled to strike, when the referee turns to lecture Bray to do _something_ to keep the match moving, when Sarah sees her opportunity. Scrambles in and does a quick handstand, landing a kneedrop on Asuka's kneeling form, winding her and leaving her vulnerable to Bray's offense. He pushes the referee aside and grabs the woman, kissing her forehead just above the weird lines along her cheeks and nose, and hits Sister Abigail, pinning her quickly. Once the win is his, he rolls to his feet and laughs, staring out at the crowd as they boo and jeer his defeating a woman in such a way.

Sarah ignores them, relieved to have some semblence of revenge as she rotates her arm gingerly and smirks when Asuka looks back at her, a cool kind of anger in her eyes. _We'll meet again some day,_ she silently promises.


	106. chapter 106

With the holidays looming, Stephanie takes the week off. Sends in her match plans, and lets the show operate itself for once. Doesn't stop her from watching at home, but it's nice to be hands off for once.

The first match is an Ultimate X containing Drew Gulak, Petey Williams, Matt Taven, Aiden English, Rusev and Rowan. Despite the tag team's attempt at working together, Rusev day comes to a squeeching halt when Rowan hits both of them with a brutal forearm, snarl just visible beneath his beard. Taven, Petey and Drew try to take advantage of the distraction and scramble towards the crisscrossing wires, but Gulak hesitates, hating all top rope shenanigans, allowing Matt and Petey to get ahead of him. He struggles against himself, about to head up, when Rowan notices what's happening and snags both of them before they can get too far, slamming them both down to the mat below. He's just grabbed Petey when Drew finds his confidence and scrambles up, creeping across the wires until he's within reach of the X. Stretching as far as he can, he snags it, drags it back and hugs him with a victorious laugh, eyes gleaming... until he realizes he has to get back down and Rowan is directly below him, glowering upwards.

"Uhhh," Drew stalls, suddenly hating his decision to give up on his ban of all top roe things. Figures a win like this won't be worth what Rowan has planned. Scrambling back towards the posts, he drops down and rolls out of the ring before Rowan could pick his way around the downed bodies of their opponents, running up the ramp with his eyes still locked on the ring behind him.

After a lengthy back and forth, with Rosemary's eccentricities barely making Paige flinch, she loses to the recently returned woman after getting twisted up into a Paige turner, both of them staring at each other warily, before Rosemary gets to her feet slowly, lights flickering with each movement she makes... before they face each other, curious. Paige eventually eases back and holds her hand out, Rosemary peering down at it for a few moments before taking hold of it and shaking it respectfully, Paige's eyes softening as she pulls away slowly, turning to leave.

Randy Orton is victorious against Finn Balor after getting back to his feet while Finn is flying for his Coup De Grace, landing an RKO out of mid-air. Charlotte defeats Asuka after reversing her armlock into the figure four, arching up into the figure eight and holding on with all of her strength until Asuka screams out and taps, unable to get to the ropes or fight out, at the brink for the first time in her entire career.

Annoyed by how much press Jericho vs Omega is getting, Stephanie has to smirk when the handicapped match she put together, Ishimori, Lashley and Marty Scurll against Kenny Omega goes as she expects, the three men never stopping, never needing a breather before someone else is there to outnumber him with power and stretch, speed and tenacity, all that's needed to beat an already abused Omega down, leaving him vulnerable to being pinned by Ishimori whle Lashley and Scurll stand outside of the ring, arguing over just that fact, both wanting the point for this cycle. When the bell rings, they gape at the celebrating man before turning to glower at each other. "This is your fault!" they both snap, beginning a new round of arguments.

Bad luck for Kennys continue as Cesaro defeats Kenny King after landing a jaw-shattering uppercut after landing the Neutralizer. Harper and Sheamus face off next, the crowd holding their breath as the two large men brutalize each other, neither quite able to get the upperhand on the other... until Harper lands a boot on Sheamus, his head snapping back and sending him down to the mat, dazed. Harper grabs him by the mohawk, ignoring the referee's reprimands and warnings, booting him again. He repeats the action a third time before dropping down and pinning him, sneering as the crowd boos.

The main event pits Roman Reigns vs Johnny Mundo. Roman is strong, yes, but Mundo is cunning and fast, and runs circles around the other man, only sometimes finding himself rocked by Roman's punches, or trapped when he comes off of the top just to get slammed down to the mat in an unexpected spear. But, after so many years in the business, he thinks he's gained a toleration for Vince's next pet project, so he kicks out and scrambles back to his feet, landing a solid kick to Roman's jaw. They stare at each other, Mundo favoring his ribs ever so slightly while Roman adjusts his jaw, makes sure he can still use it normally despite the pain spreading down his chin. A few moments pass while they regroup and then Mundo tries again, ducking a superman punch and running up the second turnbuckle before spinning around and landing a solid knee that sends Roman back and down with a solid thump, staring up at the ceiling. Here, Mundo would love to climb to the top, hit the End of the World, and celebrate with the love of his life, but he can't. Not when so much is riding on this.

So he rushes to the side of Roman and begins punching him, teeth gritted in determination... just for Roman to push him off after a moment, get to his feet and land a solid Superman Punch. Which Mundo drops on, but Roman's attempt at a kick out fails, Johnny reaching for the lights, for the crowd, anything he thinks might help him. In the end, he needs none of that. Struggles to his feet, grips Roman under the arms and slings him back before landing another running kick to the back of his head, downing Roman immediately and leaving the crowd buzzing with the terrible sound of flush against knee cartilage. Not that Mundo's ever cared, climbing to the top of and landing a solid boneshattering corkscrew moonsault that informs causes Roman to spasm, grabbing at his ribs cage just for Mundo to dive on top of him and twist him up into a pin, everything pausing for a few moments as the referee motions to the timekeeper outside, the ring announcer declaring Mundo a winner as he rolls out of the ring and stands on the apron, waiting for the referee to come and show him the respect he deserves by lifting his arm in victory.

He has it all now, he thinks with a brilliant smirk as the man finally comes up to him and does just that, John grinning with so much self-satisfaction that it's almost blinding, his amusement growing as he watches Roman stewing from the ring. "Better luck next time!" he calls over the general cacophony of the crowd, smirking as he turns to walk up the ramp.


	107. chapter 107

Stephanie taps her foot, staring at a calendar. _Less than a week to Christmas,_ she reflects with a sigh before turning to the lengthy list of wrestlers that are filling the arena today. Between Final Battle and Clash of Champions, she has a lot of matches to decide tonight. Scrubbing at her face, she puts a few final touches on the card before handing it off to be put up. Settling down on her couch, she puts her feet up, crossing her legs and waiting for the show to begin.

The first match of the night sees AJ Styles defeating Hanson, his slower strength overwhelmed by AJ's fast, riskier moves, just to be ended by a phenomenal forearm.

Ten man elimination match follows this, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Matt Taven, Jonathan Gresham, Johnny Mundo, Finn Balor, Jay Lethal, Nick Jackson, Mojo Rawley, Christopher Daniels and Dean Ambrose files out to the ring, Dean holding his arm close to his chest as he stands in the ring and eyes his competition warily. He tries his best to avoid the general brawls that start off, with so many guys in the ring at once, but fails, targetted quickly as Mojo Rawley goes right for him, trying to get the quick elimination. He fails at getting what he wants as Dean fights back viciously, sending him staggering backwards into Kevin Owens, who responds viciously, nearly sending Mojo over with a few solid punches, Sami lurking behind him, waiting for an opportunity to get some shots in too. Mojo recovers, however, and it's Balor who goes over first on the other side of the ring, Christopher Daniels and Matt Taven working together for once to send him up and over, a solid dropkick from Taven finishing the job.

This elimination is barely digested when Taven turns to eat a superkick from Nick Jackson, following Balor out and landing in an undignified lump on the mat below. It's finally Mojo's turn to go for real as he dashes into the midst of this, getting shouldered up and over by a waiting Jay Lethal, just to get blasted with a boot from a nearby Mundo, also eager to get rid of him in some sort of revenge for Zack Ryder. Owens has just turned his attention to them when Sami took the opportunity he'd been waiting for and rushed forward to get a cheap shot in while their attention was elsewhere, just to eat another superkick from Nick. Owens moves quickly to help but snaps backwards when Mundo lands a solid enziguiri on him, sending him staggering. Before he can recover, Sami is eliminated, and he growls, grabbing at Nick, just to get kicked in the back of the head again. "Would you STOP that-" he snaps, spinning around in time to get hit with the Lethal Injection, Jay joining Mundo in pushing him towards the ropes.

He tries to fight them off but quickly joins Sami on the outside as Daniels and NIck join in to help eliminate him, the two best friends glowering into the ring as they backtrack at the referee's commands, both far from pleased with how this night's gone. Daniels goes next, his and Nick's temporary truce fading away quickly as Daniels tries and fails to eliminate him, just to eat a superkick for his troubles, a second one sending him clear over and out nearly onto the ramp itself. Mundo takes care of Nick, however, gripping him by the back of his neck and slinging him out to join Daniels, who just rolls away to avoid getting landed on. Dean's attempt to lay low, eak out a victory, fails when Jonathan Gresham grabs him from behind and slings him out, just for Dean to grab the ropes with his good hand, gritting his teeth against the pain stabbing up his bad arm at getting jostled. They stare at each other and he takes a swing, just to curse when Gresham punches his right side, sending more pain up his arm and causing him to let go of the rope entirely, one more strike all it takes to send him falling out of the ring, digging his nails into his palm as mind-numbing pain stabs up his elbow.

Mundo and Jay are brawling back and forth in the corner, both trying to get the upperhand on the other, but neither are accomplishing much, Jay's strikes and John's kicks only going so far before the other man recovers and lands more strikes, struggling to get closer to the ropes. They've just locked up when Gresham storms over, gets an arm under Jay and, since Jay has a grip on a teetering Mundo, sends them both over at once. All they can do is stare up at him in shock, Jay slapping his fist against the mat as Mundo gets up to argue with the official when they realize what's just happened. Nothing can be done, however, Gresham named the victor.

After a brutal exchange of punches and a variety of moves that leave the crowd fixated, Ishimori takes down Jey Uso. Next is a tag match pitting Rowe and Aiden English against Jay Briscoe and Will Ferrara. None of the four get along well, but after ridding the ring of Rowe, Jay slams Aiden down ruthlessly and is just about to go for a pin when Ferrara tosses him out to join Rowe and steals the win, quickly sliding out of the ring and running for cover, laughing callously at the angry Briscoe brother from the top of the ramp. The next match sees Alberto El Patron win against Tanahashi, making him tap desperately as he wrenches back on his recently injured arm, risking worse damage.

In back to back female matches, Paige defeats Allie with the Rampaiger and Charlotte Flair submits Sonya DeVille with the Figure Eight.

Kazarian finds himself in the ring in a triple threat match against Randy Orton and Chris Sabin, unimpressed by either man. Orton is sneaky, slithery, his nickname well-deserved, but Sabin is less worrisome so Kaz oversells a clothesline from Orton and flops to the apron, lets the two of them go at it, unsurprised when Orton quickly takes Sabin down, hitting an RKO barely five minutes into the match. Sabin has just hit the mat when Kaz re-enters the fray and lands an Ace of Spades on him, Orton so startled by being hit with a variation of his own move that he rolls clean out of the ring, giving Kaz just enough time to pin Sabin, defeating him cleanly and getting out of there as Orton rushes after him, spitting angrily.

In the first Beat the Clock challenge of the night, Shinsuke Nakamura's eccentricies and unexpected offense leaves Shane Taylor vulnerable to his strikes, much less the kinsasha, allowing Nakamura to pin him within 3:57. Alex Shelley, rolling from wins in ROH, keeps his motivation going by taking out the #1 contender for the Cruiserweight title, Cedric Alexander, with WA4, planting him into the mat and immediately pinning him.

The second Beat the Clock match pits Mandy Rose against Laurel Van Ness and, after an initial distasteful kind of fear for the makeup smeared woman, Mandy shakes it off and avoids as much of Laurel's offense as possible, picking her spots and landing as many blows as she can, tackling Laurel down and striking her with a knee while she's still down. Laurel recovers quickly, however, and it's only Mandy's quick thinking that helps her to avoid a dropkick, pushing Laurel away before hoisting her up and hitting Angel Wings, twisting her up into a pin and clinging to her as she tries to squirm free until the three count is achieved, Mandy laughing as Laurel lays there in disbelief- Mandy had won in 3:49, only just defeating Shinsuke's time.

Harper finds himself pitted against Rowan and Mark Briscoe, the two Bludgeon Brothers taking turns beating Chicken down, neither of them in any significant hurry to defeat him. Rowan's eyes are gleaming with the same kind of madness that Harper is feeling as well, the two of them picking him apart until he's barely moving. Both exchanging a glance, Rowan defers to him, stepping aside and allowing him to finish it up with a bonerattling spinning side slam, pinning Mark languidly, holding no doubt in the three count that follows. They stand side by side, menacing and quiet, and stare out at the crowd blankly before turning as one to leave the ring. Wait for the next time they've allowed to spread more of their destruction.

The final Beat the Clock match of the night pits Roman Reigns against Silas Young. He's distracted, that's obvious. Joe- the Bar- everyone who's messed with him, Dean and Seth- it keeps him from finishing things as quickly as most would expect. He grits his teeth and tries harder, just to find Silas avoiding him. It's obvious quickly the man isn't planning on winning, or really even trying- he just wants to keep _Roman_ from winning. He swipes again and again but the man is deceptively cunning and quick and Roman keeps missing, struggling to catch him as, the longer this goes on, the more his gear weighs him down, reduces its own effectiveness. He notices then there's barely 30 seconds left on the clock so he moves again- puts force behind it and slams a solid Superman Punch on Silas, just for the man to fall clean between the ropes out of the ring. Roman gapes for a few moments, wasting precious time, before scrambling out to grab him. He's just gotten Silas back into the ring, pinning him, when- the buzzer sounds, time officially ran out. "NO!" he roars, hitting the mat with a ferocity that startles even the referee, who scrambles out of the ring and watches on as Roman slams his fists against the mat, eventually landing another punch on Silas as he staggers to his feet, downing him immediately.

In a tag turmoil match pitting Hangman Page and Big E against Matt Jackson and Petey Williams, all four men brawl back and forth, tags unneccessary in this sort of match. Matt Jackson is focused on Big E until Petey takes Page clean out of the ring, his mixed loyalties on display here, approaching Petey with a warning look on his face, fist extended... until finally he decides to drop it and returns to Big E, who grabs him and lands a belly to belly suplex, flipping over to pin him. Petey obviously begins arguing with himself but eventually lets the pin go through, smirking at his 'partner's' anger following it.

In the following match, Rusev walks out victorious against Xavier Woods and Jimmy Uso after avoiding a superkick that hits Xavier, landing a kick to the back of Jimmy's head and then locking in the accolade, pushing back with all of his might until Jimmy passes out in his arms, granting Rusev the win.

The ROH title looks good on him, Dalton Castle thinks as he walks down to the ring for the first time with it, his Boys running to be in place for him to step carefully up to the apron. Once inside, he turns to first one then the other, stroking their faces and watching their reactions to his touch. Brent always a little more reactive than Brandon, but the gleam in their eyes giving them away as he turns to wait for his tag partner, Kofi Kingston. Thankfully Kofi barely blinks at the twins flanking Dalton, offers them all pancakes, and then turns his focus as their opponents come out- Rhett Titus and a grim looking Seth Rollins. His tag partner being injured is clearly affecting him and Dalton thinks it could be used against him, perhaps. Or make him angrier. Either and or...

He gets his answer quickly when he gets on the apron and Seth barely waits for the bell before targetting Kofi, strikes and knees, kicks and forearms moving so quickly that Dalton can barely keep track of him, Kofi obviously struggling to defend against this as well. Seth fumbles only for a moment after Kofi lands on his feet following Seth slinging him over his back off of a rebound from the ropes, and it's all Kofi needs to tag Dalton in. Dalton is calm, smooth, as he stands in the ring, hands on the back of his hips, arching towards Seth as he raises an eyebrow at him and smirks. This only seems to anger Seth even more and he dashes forward, grabbing at Dalton, just to hit thin air as Dalton evades and grips him, suplexing him as his Boys hop around outside, fanning him off wildly. Seth tries to recover just to get another suplex for his trouble, Dalton kindly stepping back and giving him a minute to breathe. It's just enough time for Seth to get to his feet and dive towards Rhett, who immediately moves in for the attack, Dalton adjusting his footing to meet him head on and defend against his attempts at offense.

All it takes is a split second for Dalton to get behind Rhett, hoisting him up for a bridging German suplex, pinning him- until Seth storms in and breaks it up, ignoring the referee's recriminations. Once he's back where he belongs holding onto the tag rope, Dalton considers continuing doing what he's doing but ultimately tags Kofi in, his sweet Boys resuming their determined fanning of his back and legs, trying to cool him down as he watches Kofi and Rhett go at it. Eventually Seth tags in, frustrated with watching, and goes after Kofi, who's downed after an underhook DDT, dashing up the turnbuckles and landing a Frog Splash, barely taking the time to adjust himself properly before flying and by some luck hits it well enough that Kofi chokes and gasps for air, grabbing his ribs. Seth forces Kofi to his feet and grips his arm, glaring from side to side before throwing him forward and landing a solid knee to the face, sending Kofi crashing down to the mat. Dalton blinks, then moves, trying to break up the pin, just for Rhett to catch him half-way out of his corner, tackling him back into the ropes before elbowing him hard in the face, dazing him- just for the bell to ring, the match done with Seth as the winner.

Dalton immediately pushes Rhett away, untangling himself from the ropes, and storms forward. Seth is already gone, heading up the ramp, done with all of this and determined to go check on Dean, but Dalton is not done. He turns and grips Rhett before Rhett can escape, and spins, landing a solid Bang-a-Rang on the other man, leaving him motionless on the mat as he pulls Kofi to his feet, nodding at him as the Boys join them, fanning Kofi off after Dalton waves them over to him. Losses suck, but at least he's still champion. At least he has his Boys back.

Those are the important things.


	108. chapter 108

Whereas last week was a mess, between PPVs and end of year scramble to get as much content in as possible, no one cares about TV this week, too busy with snow, and gifts, and spending time with friends and family. For that reason, only WWE and ROH guys are milling around backstage, waiting to see the matches set for the evening. Stephanie sighs as she picks at some fudge on a platter of snacks left in her office, curling her legs under her as she taps her fingers against her lips, waiting for the show to start.   
  
Most of the matches are straight forward, even if some of the results are surprising: Scott Dawson ends up victorious against Shinsuke Nakamura after ducking away from a kinsasha, getting ahold of his leg and chaining together a Dragon screw legwhip into an inverted figure four, Nakamura struggling for what feels like forever, trying to get to the ropes, when Dawson pulls him back. Re-enforces the hold and pulls back until Nakamura taps, the pain pulsing through his body too much to withstand.  
  
Strength overwhelms speed as Hanson defeats Finn Balor, and Rhett Titus takes out Cesaro after a bonerattling shot to the face that shifts his mouth guard, sending pain up his jaw, and leaves him struggling to get it back into place, which gives Rhett just enough time to grab him and land an underhook DDT, rushing for the ropes where he manages a frog splash, pinning Cesaro with a pleased smirk on his face as he's declared the winner.  
  
Silas Young takes out Sheamus after purposely targetting his neck, putting most of his offense onto the vulnerable area, a backbreaker into a lariat finishing off the larger man.  
  
In eight man Ultimate X competition, Jonathan Gresham, Dash Wilder, Samoa Joe, Chad Gable, Will Ferrara, Dalton Castle, Hideo Itami and Randy Orton face off. The ring is full, all of the men desperate to end the year on a high note, and Will Ferrara keeps low, following Rhett Titus' advice to stay out of sight as best as he can until it's time to make his move. He chokes when Chad Gable suplexes Itami, just for Joe to splash him into the corner nearest Will, but it doesn't stop him. He continues creeping forward, relieved that the others are all too distracted with their own battles to notice him. Eventually he reaches the turnbuckle post and climbs, already touching the wires above before he's noticed. "HEY!" Orton yells, trying to get to him, but Castle has him, suplexing him back and bridging beautifully into a follow up, but Dash comes after Will.  
  
Getting his boot out, Will kicks Dash right in the face, sending him crashing down and grabbing his jaw, allowing Will to get his legs around the wires and starting to shimmy over. Gresham tries to stop him, but he's too slow-- Will has the X, he's disconnected it and won before Jonathan could even come close to touching the wires, and he laughs happily, dropping to the mat below to celebrate. He's barely landed, however, when he's met by Joe's boot, landing hard in the middle of the ring with the X falling lazily against his chest. The others slowly clear out, leaving him sprawled out there motionless.  
  
Marty Scurll wins against Kofi Kingston, and Charlotte finds herself in a triple threat match against Naomi and Asuka. The three WWE women fight hard, sometimes it taking all Charlotte and Naomi have just to get Asuka down for a few moments. Together, they succeed in slinging her out of the ring, listening with some satisfaction as she hits hard, allowing the two of them to focus on each other. Naomi tries, she does, but Charlotte is quicker, downs her with a boot and then locks in the Figure Eight. After Naomi taps, Charlotte sits up to find Asuka standing on the apron, watching her with this creepy grin. Their eyes lock and Charlotte feels a shiver ease down her spine before the woman hops off and dances cheerfully up the ramp, as if she'd been the victor all along.  
  
An elimination tag match finishes the night off, pitting Shelton Benjamin and Seth Rollins against Cedric Alexander and Big E. Seth eyes Shelton distrustfully before starting the match off against Cedric. No matter how quick and wiley Cedric is, Seth is one step ahead, landing knees, forearms, using his anger towards Dean Ambrose's injury and the resulting confusion of being partnered up with Jason Jordan now to his advantage. The knee to the face comes out of nowhere and Cedric flops, quickly being pinned. Big E isn't as easy, grabbing Seth and slinging him around like he weighs nothing, but Seth gets free, reluctantly tags Shelton in and Shelton quickly builds up some steam against Big E, landing some suplexes of his own. Squirming out of a belly to belly attempt, Shelton lands on his feet, grips Big E and hits an Exploder Suplex, bridging into a pin and winning the match while Seth rolls his eyes from the apron, not thrilled at the loss of a point but unable to do anything about it now.


	109. chapter 109

****

2018\. Stephanie sighs, staring bemusedly at her calendar. So much had happened in 2017, professionally and personally. A new year feels bittersweet, somehow. Either way, she forces herself to shake it off because it's time for Team Work and, since WWE was the only company working this week, she's had to book Raw vs Smackdown on the fly. Not thrilled with it, but she consoles herself that come next week, TNA, ROH, and NJPW will all be back to normal schedules and she'll have more people at her disposal.

The first match of the night pits Braun Strowman vs Shelton Benjamin. It's clear Braun is feeling rough, his skin pasty, eyes shadowed. Flu's been going around- Enzo Amore had already been taken off a couple of shows because of it. No one foresees the fight Shelton brings to him, however- even gets him over the ropes and dropkicks him to the floor below. Braun stands there blankly for a few moments, eyes glassy, but when he tries to get back into the ring, Shelton meets him with more boots to the face, downing him once more and he leans heavily on the barricade wall, flushed and generally unwell, trying to catch his breath. He's counted out before he could even find the strength to move again, barely flinching when Shelton is declared the victory.

Holiday miracles continue as Bobby Roode defeats Kane after squirming out of a chokeslam and snagging him in a Glorious Bomb before pinning him. The night ends up three for three when John Cena's off again on again schedule catches up with him, Chad Gable's newfound aggression working in his favor as he suplexes Cena all over the ring, deftly avoiding various attempts at the Attitude Adjustment and everything else Cena tries to put him away, Gable finally bridging so deeply that the exhausted Cena has no chance at kicking out and Gable's first win of the new year is probably the biggest of his career. He sits there dazed for a few moments, before leaping to his feet and raising his arms in victory, an all-knowing smirk on his face before he waves the crowd, the referee, and everyone else off to go celebrate their individual wins with Benjamin.

Absolution comes to the ring next, awkward looks on Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville's faces as they follow Paige out. This is explained when Ruby Riott comes out, not accompanied by Liv Morgan or Sarah Logan, and the ring announcer explains it's a tag match. Pitting Paige and Ruby against Mandy and Sonya. The four women eye each other oddly, Paige motioning to her fellow teammates before ducking behind the ropes, standing back and watching coolly as the two women overwhelm Ruby and ignore the referee as much as they can without risking disqualification. Ruby fights with everything she has, of course, but it's not enough against the both of them, and Paige is absolutely no help whatsoever. She only pays attention when Ruby collapses a few feet away from the ropes, just within tagging distance when Paige stretches. She tags herself in and lazily circles Mandy, who watches her rarily. "Remember, sweethearrt," Paige calls after her. "We will always be a partnership,.but this match here is every women for herself." And she greets Mandy with a solid boot to the face before tugging her up by the hair, slinging her face first into the mat. Sonya tries to help but gets thrown out of the ring face first. One Ram-Paige later and it's over, Paige pinning Mandy and taking the win for herself.

Immediately as the bell rings, Paige helps Mandy to her feet and dusts her off, smile this side of insincere, but eyes wide and dark enough that Mandy shrugs it off, nods in acceptance of Paige's attempts to explain. _Every woman for herself_ and all. The three of them leave together.

The following match is a triple threat match pitting Seth Rollins vs Jinder Mahal vs Jason Jordan. Jason is cocky, all but laughing at Jinder as he's accompanied to ringside by the Singhs. Nudges Seth and smirks even wider, not noticing or not caring the disinterested look on Seth's face as he brushes at the spot that Jason had touched. Whatever Jason was expecting probably wasn't Jinder overwhelming him early while Seth stands in the corner and watches. "Hey!" he yells once he gets back to his feet and approaches his partner. "We're partners! Why aren't you working with me against him!?"

Seth exhales. Looks at him like he's dumb. "It's a triple threat match, Jason- we're _not_ working together here. I want another point too, you know." While they're arguing about this, Jinder sneaks up, grabs Jason and slams him back, floating over into a cover. Seth then does move, breaking up the pin and grabbing Jinder by the jaw, dragging him to his feet and booting him in the side of the face. While Jinder wavers, Jason gets to his feet- and pushes Seth. Seth staggers, then turns on him, swinging hard. Jason ducks and suplexes him, causing Seth to roll out of the ring. Jinder has more than recovered by then and avoids another suplex, snagging Jason and landing a kalas, pinning him as easy as that. Seth pokes his head up from the side and gapes as the match is declared. "What the hell was that?!" he demands, Jason painfully rolling out of the ring.

"Where were you!?" he yells back, the two of them continuing to argue all the way backstage.

The main event is an elimination chamber, Kevin Owens standing in the corner and laughing as for whatever reason, it's him and a bunch of the cruiserweight division- Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali and Hideo Itami. He raises an eyebrow as Finn Balor is the last to enter, the match starting with him and Ali as the others are closed up in their pods. "Someone must really hate your division," he yells out at Ali, indicating the others with a spin of his finger. "I'd say I'm sorry for doing this, but I'm really not."

Ali does try to fight, but one rebound off of a punch that barely makes Kevin flinch and he has him up in the air, slinging him down in a vicious popup powerbomb. After the pin, he walks in slow circles around the ring, smirking in at the various wrestlers that he may get to take down next, insulting them the entire time as he stares at them through chains and plexiglass. Once the pods light up and Hideo is released, it's like Kevin uncoils, not giving Hideo time to really get moving, bringing the offense to him early and quickly, not wanting his face to get managed like The Brian Kendrick's was. Hideo tries, he really does, but speed can't account for power when Kevin is focused, and before too long, he finds himself experiencing the same bone-rattling impact that Ali did, pinned just as quickly.

Cedric takes some time, landing strikes and knees that almost causes Kevin to doubt his game plan. He even comes close to hitting a lumbar check on Kevin, but Kevin grabs him by the back of his head and slings him away, hoisting him up and giving him the same fate as the others. "I could do this all day," he yells out to the crowd through the chamber, laughing hoarsely as they boo him. Akira Tozawa joins everyone else in being eliminated by a pop up powerbomb and Kevin turns his dark stare on Finn Balor, tilting his head. Except that they've both been Universal champion, they both understand what it takes, and Finn comes out fighting, throwing punches and kicks, elbows and forearms that quickly has Kevin on the defensive, yelling as his gameplan flies out the window and he finds himself struggling just to catch his breath.

He thinks he has it at one point, but Finn strikes him in the head with his knee and he's forced to let him go as he falls forward. Finn stomps him, then, hard, drawing more of the wind out of his lungs and he coughs, rubbing his chest painfully, just to get DDT'd for his troubles. He's blinking up at the lights when he realizes that, as much fun as wrecking most of the cruiserweight division had been, it had led to him underestimating Finn, and now... he tries to roll over but his body isn't responding. He blinks and sees a shadow crossing over him and then... Coup De Grace, straight to the chest. Breathing is a struggle, focusing his vision is impossible, and there's a buzzing in his ears that just barely registers the three count and the bell ringing distantly. He pounds his fist against the mat before rolling away from Finn's celebration, gritting his teeth angrily. "Aaah!"

As he hits the chains reinforcing the chamber, he tries not to think about starting the new year off with a loss like this, reminding himself repeatedly that he'd just pinned the World Champion to end 2017, and what else could be more important honestly? Then he sees Finn smirking down at him from the top of the turnbuckle and starts thrashing around anew, pride and hatred warring within him. "Happy New Year!" Finn yells out.

"OH SHUT UP!" Kevin responds before staggering to his feet and lunging for the now opened Chamber door, relieved to get out, get away, glaring up at Finn as he stumbles up the ramp to hide from this reality.


	110. chapter 110

Stephanie hums. Twists her earrings around absent-mindedly, feeling the familiar weight that leads in to Wrestlemania season beginning early. So much to do, so many plans to finalize. And yeah, she thrives in such circumstances, but sometimes it's nice to have a moment to focus on other things. And so she forces her thoughts onto the week's Team Work. With the holidays behind them, the other federations are slowly getting back into the groove, putting on shows, giving her talent to use. So she turns on her monitor to watch the show and keep track of points for the cycle's conclusion in a few weeks, eager to see who will aim to take Ambrose's spot at the top of the mountain now that he's out with his injury.

Because even wrestling can throw curve balls sometimes, Cedric Alexander carries on his momentum from Raw and 205 Live by defeating Kenny Omega- just one quick mistake that Cedric shifts into the lumbar check and it's all over for NJPW's US Champion. Ever since Kurt had taken over Raw, Stephanie's main worry was that he wasn't enough to control Braun Strowman, a fact he'd proven time and again, so she'd decided to take some of the wind out of his sails with a gauntlet match. But of course, Braun being Braun, he'd breezed through Taiji Ishimori, Jimmy Uso and Chandler Park. Only the Briscoe Brothers manage to give him pause, Jay actually fighting back for a few minutes, winding the large man and leaving him vulnerable to Mark Briscoe continuing his attack. In the end, it takes the referee arguing with Jay, who refuses to leave ringside, giving his brother the opportunity to take Braun out with his redneck kungfu, the elbow drop off of the top just enough to leave him down. Jay watches from the outside, a proud smirk on his face, as his brother gets the pin and the points, both of them diving for cover as Braun recovers and chases after them, roaring angrily.

In what is an obvious sign towards Matt Hardy, Bray Wyatt succeeds in a triple threat match against Finn Balor and Ortiz, redeeming himself for his mishap over the fall months, landing Sister Abigail on Finn and defeating him while Ortiz hovers on the outside, unwilling to disrupt this. Following this is an elimination tag match, this time pitting Ruby Riott members against each other as Ruby teams with Asuka against Liv and Sarah Logan. Asuka is leery of them, and understandably so because the bell has barely rung when the three women move against her, kicking and hitting every inch of her that they can reach. She defends herself as best as she can, finding landing a strike that sends Liv stumbling back, allowing Asuka a little space to get her feet up and kick both Ruby and Sarah away. As soon as she gets to her feet, she throws Ruby out of the ring and grabs Sarah, flipping her into the armbar and wrenching back on it as much as she can. She sees movement as Liv tries to come to the rescue in time but she's just a little too late as Sarah taps desperately, Liv hitting thin air as Asuka rolls away.

Asuka throws Sarah out at a recovering Ruby, both of the women collapsing uselessly to the mat below, and Asuka stalks Liv with a demented smirk on her face. She doesn't even bother with her submission this time, just digging her heel into Liv's face before kicking her aside, pinning her immediately afterwards, taking the win for her team. She laughs and waves mockingly as she walks up the ramp, keeping an eye on all of them.

Santana defeats Sami Zayn, and Goldust is the victor in a triple threat match against Kofi Kingston and Roman Reigns, the Intercontinental Champion unable to recover in time after Kofi's risky dive to the outside had sent him into the commentary table and left him motionless from pain for a few minutes. Eli Drake is the next big winner in an elimination match, taking out Dan Lambert, Jey Uso and Luke Gallows.

The main event is a six man match, Marty Scurll, Big E, EC3, Silas Young, Karl Anderson and Jason Jordan all filling the ring as they wait for the bell to ring. As soon as it does, they all break apart into separate brawls, Ethan and Scurll going at it while Big E and Silas face off. Anderson and Jason eye each other for a minute before Karl lunges at him, just to get suplexed away for his trouble. Big E gets it next as Jason wades in seriously, taking as many people out as he can. Before too long, he finds himself staring down Ethan, who tries to sneak in an attack just to get suplexed away for his trouble as well. Big E tries, they all do, but Jason is floating after his tag team title win, moves crisp and offense on fire as he dishes out suplexes so smoothly that even those in the ring watch on in awe.

Scurll and Silas eventually give up and scramble to the outside, brawling out there, Karl and Big E shortly following. This leaves Jason with Ethan, the two of them sneering at each other as they circle each other, landing a few testing blows here and there. It's not until Ethan gets close to be heard over the crowd that things change. "Injuring and defeating your father for the TNA title was one of the highlights of my career!" he yells at him.

The words echo in Jason's ears as he gapes at him. Their testing the waters quickly die away as Jason grabs him, suplexing him brutally over his shoulder and then standing, grinding the heel of his boot into Ethan's arm, hearing him squirm and cry out in pain as Jason digs into the surgically repaired joint. "What were you saying?" he snaps, tangling his fingers into Ethan's hair and forcing him to look up.

Ethan's squinting in pain but he doesn't back down, even tries repeating himself, just for Jason to strongarm up once more, bridging off of a belly to belly that gets a two count. THe others are still distracted on the outside and Jason continues tossing Ethan around with this variety of Suplexes until Ethan trips Jordan up, getting enough distance between them that he manages to land a desperate 1%er, trying desperately for a 3 count but groaning when Jason kicks out at two. "Come o!" he yells, just to feel gravity shift again- another suplex, and this time Jason shifts it into an elevated neckbreaker. The others are still distracted, there's no way to fix this, and Ethan closes his eyes as the bell rings, the referee announcing Jason the victor.

Jason cheers and celebrates like he's won something that will matter in the long run, Ethan glaring at him from where he's downed, only able to breathe and move a little bit, crawling towards the side of the ring as he tries to absorb what Jason's just did..


	111. chapter 111

With the rumble inching ever closer, Stephanie finds herself staring at the match listing, exhaling slowly. There's been another rash of injuries occuring and it's always at the worst timing, when the road to Wrestlemania is starting to pick up speed. She sighs and shakes her head, making a few notes on the file keeping track of each competitor's points. She's already tired, eager for April so they can return to the status quo, such as it is for this company. Crossing her legs at the ankle, she turns to the TV and flicks it on, hopeful for matches to distract her from her wayward thoughts.

The first match pits Samoa Joe against Mojo Rawley and, despite both Joe's bad foot, and Mojo's new found aggression, Joe makes quick work of him, snagging him into the Coquina clutch before Mojo could even try for his brutal forearm in the corner, Mojo struggling to get free until finally he passes out, unwilling to tap. Luke Harper dominates as well, taking Kenny King out almost as quickly with a powerbomb. Laurel Van Ness gets the win against Sasha Banks after reversing her attempt to strike Laurel with her knees in the corner into an elevated DDT.

The next match pits Brandon Tate against Dezmond Xavier and he frowns as Brent walks out with him just to have to turn back around and return to preparing for his match with Dalton later. "You've got this, twin!" Brent insists, smirking at him when Brandon nods, his eyes clearing. Once he's alone, the match begins and it's quick, the two men almost racing each other to see who could do the most damaging move the quickest. Dezmond lands a standing dragonrana that winds Brandon, makes it hard for him to breath, trying to blink the spots in his vision away. He rolls away just before Dezmond can land another blow and scrambles to his feet, hitting Xavier in the face with a solid boot before scrambling to the top, diving off into a crisp springboard crossbody that downs Xavier for a two count.

They reset, Xavier grabbing Brandon and landing a jumping cutter, but it's Brandon's turn to kick out, struggling to the ropes. When Xavier goes after him again, he braces against the ropes and kicks out, landing both boots securely against Xavier's chest, sending him backwards a few feet. They glare at each other but this time, when Dezmond goes after him, Brandon catches him with an open hand strike that rocks him backwards, leaving him vulnerable to a rough knee to the midsection that downs him. Brandon then tries the top rope again. He manages a splash while Xavier is still struggling to get up, and then tugs his leg up into a pin that sees him get a three count. In disbelief that he's won, the Boy slips out of the ring and stands by the ramp, lips parted in surprise, before he realizes Xavier is coming after him, and he dashes up the ramp, not stopping until he's arrived at Dalton's locker room where he's congratulated cheerfully by both Dalton and his twin.

AJ Styles finds himself in a handicap match against Will Ospreay and Finn Balor, but his opponents can't get on the same page, wasting precious time arguing, or trying to one up each other against him. He smirks, shaking his head, as they barely pay him any mind through some pivotal parts of the match. It costs them as he takes advantage of it and hits a phenomenal forearm on both of them, immediately twisting around and snagging Ospreay, tucking him in for the Styles Clash, which he then pins him on, winning the match before Finn could recover enough to break it up. Becky Lynch wins against Bayley and even Nick Jackson can't survive against Matt Hardy's brokenness, quickly finding himself hit with a twist of fate and staring up at the lights as the referee counts three next to his head. By some insane quirk of luck, Cedric Alexander's speed gains him a win by count out against Erick Rowan, the Bludgeon Brother just a little too slow to re-enter the ring after Cedric dove carelessly down upon him similar as he had with Enzo the night he'd not only injured his ankle but also busted his eyebrow open. Tyler Breeze walks out with the large red X after a four man Ultimate X match, leaving KM, Karl Anderson and Matt Jackson watching him go with some disgust and confusion on their faces.

For the main event, Fandango, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Brent Tate, Garza Jr, Jay Lethal, Lashley, Luke Gallows, Sonjay Dutt and Dalton Castle walk down to the ring for the upcoming ten man elimination match. Brent hovers behind Dalton as the match begins, Lashley eagerly going after the guy nearest him- which happens to be Jay Lethal, Jay quickly trying to fight back while Orton and Nakamura go after Garza Jr and Sonjay, interrupting their attempts to eject both of them from the match early. It happens in a rush- one minute Dalton is standing before him, arm stretched out protectively, and the next... Luke Gallows lands a boot on Dalton, sending him staggering back and- Brent tries to grab for him, but he's too slow to do anything worthwhile as Lashley throws Jay into Dalton, sending him over the ropes onto the apron. Gallows lands the decisive blow then, eliminating Dalton with one brutal punch to the jaw. Brent freezes, realizing he's alone. "No, no," he mumbles helplessly, eyes trailing from one side of the ring to the next. "What do I do?"

"BRENT!" Dalton yells out, gaining his attention before he's forced to leave ringside. "You've got this, My Boy. You'll be fine."

Brent exhales. He believes him. So he waits until things clear out a little- Fandango is eliminated shortly after Dalton, and to his relief, Gallows goes next as Lashley decides to prove his dominance against someone just a little bit bigger. Orton and Shinsuke work together once more and rids the ring of Lashley, who glowers up at them in disgust, before heading for the exit. Brent is still breathless, but it seems to be working- the others are so distracted, that no one seems to be aware that he's been there this entire time. To his absolute relief.

Jay Lethal is thrown out next, Orton disgusted after a failed attempt at the Lethal Injection and eager to get rid of him. Sonjay goes next, Shinsuke eliminating him with a brutal boot to the side of the skull that sends him clear over the top rope and out. The two partners smirk at each other, easing into fighting positions, when Garza Jr comes out of nowhere and eliminates both of them, Brent's eyes going very wide as he realizes they're the only two left. Despite Brent's foreboding, Garza can't get him closer to the ropes, Brent careful to always keep an eye on him as they circle each other. Finally Garza moves, takes a swing at him, but Brent ducks, sweeps Garza's feet out from under him and lands an elbow out of desperation- Brent's not willing to climb the ropes, aware that that would leave him MUCH too vulnerable to elimination but also desperate because it cuts off a good half of his moves.

Garza recovers quickly, and they resume their dance, before Brent kicks him hard, sending him staggering back. He follows it up with a punch, sending Garza back another couple of steps, success in his sights, when Garza rebounds and lands blow after brutal blow, Bent finding himself staggered and gasping for air. He closes his eyes and- abruptly sees Dalton's face in his mind's eye, a hopeful little smile that since he'd lost, at least both of his Boys could walk out tonight winners. Gritting his teeth and exhaling a sharp yell, Brent lunges forward and clotheslines Garza, sending him crashing to the mat below. Deciding to take his chances, Brent climbs onto the top turnbuckle and dives upon Garza's prone form, winding him further. He struggles to his feet, holding his ribs, but removes his hand briskly before grabbing Garza and tugging him up. Between one breath and the next, he has the man up, throwing him towards the ropes. From there, it only takes one dropkick to send the already staggered man up and over. Brent wins.

He laughs, eyes shining with happiness, and he's still standing there when Dalton comes out, Brandon tagging along with a pleased look on his face. "I told you you could do it," Dalton says, beaming at Brent before turning to look at Brandon. "Both of my Boys, winners tonight!" he continues, his own loss barely a blip on his radar now. He strokes both of their faces before turning to face the crowd, gripping their hands and lifting them up in victory to show them off to the crowd of people watching.


	112. chapter 112

Stephanie is exhausted. Wrestling is a drama-filled business to be part of normally anyway, tack in that it's the week leading into the Royal Rumble and she just wants to lay down and sleep for a good week. But she plows on, determined to make this week's Team Work as good as she can, even if she doesn't pay much attention to the show itself, leaving it in the hands of her capable team wandering the hallways, always keeping the machine moving as smoothly as possible. She watches the screen through blurry eyes as the show begins, close to nodding off.

The first match is a six man match that Jinder walks out the victor of against Titus O'Neil, Matt Jackson, EVIL, Ortiz, and Chris Sabin. Dash Wilder pins Homicide in a tag match where he teams with Santana, who successfully keeps Roman Reigns distracted until the three count. After avoiding a Glorious Bomb, Sanada takes out Bobby Roode with a Moonsault press, succeeding at defeating WWE's new US Champion.

Next up is an Elimination Chamber pitting Goto vs Seth Rollins vs Nick Jackson vs Kongo Kong vs Jonathon Gresham vs Scott Dawson. Dawson and Gresham start things off, brawling back and forth, Jonathon barely able to keep his balance with the flurry of strikes and elbows that Dawson keeps landing on him. He's close to being eliminated when Nick Jackson enters and downs them both with superkicks, posing smugly before going to the top... just to take a solid knee to the face by Dawson, hitting hard and rolling away. Unfortunately for him, this puts him in range for a frog splash from Gresham, who recovers quickly enough to pin and eliminate him. Before either of the remaining wrestlers could capitalize, Kongo Kong is freed and takes both of them out before piledriving Dawson down and pinning him easily.

Gresham struggles against Kongo Kong, close to losing, his career- his life- flashing before his eyes when the buzzer goes off and Seth is released, on the move almost as soon as his pod opens. He dives, strikes Kongo Kong with a knee, and Gresham tries to help, but he's slowly being choked out, unable to do anything but watch Seth land offense repeatedly. Finally he squirms enough to get ahold of Kong's hand, twisting and tugging on his fingers, trying to break his hold, crack his joints, _something_ \- when Kong yells out in anger and pain, pushing Gresham away and staring at his fingers when Seth rushes up and lands a solid curb stomp, planting Kong into the mat and leaving him motionless. Together, Gresham and Seth succeed at rolling the large wrestler over onto his back, Seth diving for the pin when Gresham seems in no hurry.

Gresham being weakened from Kong is easy to get rid of as well, Seth taking him out with a simple knee to the face before pinning him. He then leans on the ropes and waits with a vaguely bored smirk on his face until Goto is released, the two of them immediately brawling as they match each other blow for blow, until Goto snags him and suplexes him, Seth immediately losing focus as his body is rattled by the abrupt attack. He stumbles up and tries to land a knee, but Goto grips him with a headlock before lariating him into a backbreaker and Seth gasps from where he'd landed on the mat, blinking sweat out of his eyes, unaware that Goto is climbing the top rope. He dives off into an elbow drop, Seth spitting as he rolls onto his side, gripping his midsection and whimpering. Goto grips him and gets him back into position, pinning him successfully and taking the win for himself.

Apollo Crews is the winner in a fatal four way match against Ishimori, Cedric Alexander and Alex Shelley, and then it's time for the main event. A six woman tag match, Stephanie laughing up at the ceiling as she imagines the woman's faces. She'd had some fun the last few weeks, switching up known allegiances- like making members of Absolution partner with others against each other, or Riott Squad. Tonight is another mix of ridiculousness, with Asuka, Sonya Deville, and Ruby Riott against Rosemary, Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan. Liv and Sarah are barely able to focus on the match about to begin, both so frightened of Rosemary, who snaps her teeth at the two when she notices them staring at her.

Sonya starts the match against Liv, taking her down easily with her brutal strikes and knees, Liv barely able to breathe after a couple of these land. She struggles, blonde hair whipping every which way, trying to get to Sarah, maybe Rosemary if necessary, but she can't. Sonya grabs her by the ankle, drags her back and lands a solid boot to her ribs. She gasps and chokes, rolling away, when Sonya hits the ropes and feels the abrupt tag, Ruby letting herself into the match. She then pulls Liv up and eases her over to the corner, letting Rosemary tag in, the two women facing off. Ruby tries to fight but it's like Rosemary is on a different dimension, moving faster, fighting harder, laughing to herself all the while. There's no getting and keeping the advantage so, although Ruby hates herself, she stumbles over and tags in Asuka, slumping into the corner as she fights to catch her breath.

Asuka circles Rosemary curiously, eyes widening when Rosemary snips at her, teeth flashing in the bright lights... when Asuka echoes her motion, eyes wide and promising dangerous things as she senses the power underneath the surface. Dark power, evil promises. She definitely does not like it, so she tries to attack again but Rosemary pushes her aside and tries to land a roundhouse kick but Asuka dodges and glares fixedly at her. They meet up in the middle of the ring again, both struggling for the upperhand but it's eventually Asuka who gets the better of her, sending back a few feet towards her corner. Sarah tags herself back in and immediately races after Asuka, who looks bored all of a sudden and tags in Ruby, who sputters in disbelief, looking at her fellow teammate. They shrug and begin to wrestle, Ruby a step ahead of Sarah at every turn.

It's worse when Liv tags in, the two of them drastically unevenly matched. Before Ruby could do or say something to put a stop to this without completely embarrassing Liv, Sonya tags in. Ruby gapes after her, then exhales when Liv walks over and tags a beckoning Sarah in, the two women coming face to face in the middle of the ring. Sonya is fast but Sarah has tenacity, dodging each of her attempts. Sonya is shocked when Sarah lands her first strike, picking up speed with each punch and kick until Sonya can barely breathe, forced down to one knee while Sarah smirks, landing a low dropkick and covering Sonya, who kicks out at 2. Sarah isn't ready to give up and tries to land a shining wizard but Sonya grabs her, landing her with a spinebuster before catching her in body scissors, Sarah struggling as she's ridded of breath. She struggles for a robebreak, eventually managing it before passing out, hooking an arm over the bottom rope. Sonya grits her teeth and releases the hold when the referee admonishes her, moving even as she tries to decide on her next bit of offense when Sarah meets her with a headbutt, rocking her.

Sonya gasps and blinks hard when Sarah strikes her again, finally hoisting her up into a takeover, bridging into an armbar with enough distance from the ropes that she thinks she'll be able to keep the move locked in for awhile, long enough to do a decent amount of damage. Sonya fights to get free, to lock in her own submission, something- when Sarah rolls her away and strikes her with a knee before returning to the armbar, twisting back until Sonya's arm is pulled back at an unnatural position. She writhes, cries out, and Ruby watches on in pleased surprise as the woman taps, giving Sarah the victory by submission. Not even minding that she didn't win to get a point for the cycle, Liv cheers loudly and dives into the ring, jumping up into Sarah's arms as soon as she's on her feet, referee lifting her arm in success.

Ruby chuckles, shaking her head at her eclectic teammates, watching Asuka, Rosemary and Sonya closely as they make their way slowly from ringside. "Damn straight, this squad is nothin' but winners," she mumbles, smirking. "And we'll continue it at the Rumble."


	113. chapter 113

The Royal Rumble is finally done. Stephanie is relieved, as is everyone else involved in it. It'd been something of a scramble, with a lot of last minute hassle and drama. But now she can sit and think about Team Work, another cycle ending within the night. She suspects that there will need to be a tie-breaker to figure out the actual winner of the cycle, but for now... for now, she needs to see the rest of the matches to their conclusion so she turns her focus onto the screen.

The first match of the night sees Shaheem Ali build up even more motivation as he defeats Kofi Kingston after dodging an SOS. AJ Styles and Gran Metallik go at it next, and AJ defeats him with a Styles Clash after grabbing him out of midair and slamming him down purposely. Kalisto fails to gain any significant advantage against Frankie Kazarian, finding himself on the losing end of the match after his attempt to hit a Salida del Sol gets reversed into a rolling stunner.

Bray defeats LSG, and Scorpio Sky walks out the the only man standing in a four team elimination tag match, even though logally everyone thought Brock Lesnar and Shinsuke Nakamura's team would've won easily. Except that Brock is still feeling the affects of getting a wall of metal grapple hooked down on top of him, and even he is only human in the end. From there, outlasting the teams of Miz and Sami, Roode and Tanahashi, and even his own partner, Karl Anderson, feels pretty easy. He won't be able to win the cycle but he feels good anyway, because it's proof he _can_ hang for however long this business requires of him.

The Usos continue to prove their dominance by defeating Punisher Martinez and Christopher Daniels in singles matches. After a brutal brawl with a few close falls, Matt Sydal fights back and defeats Dash Wilder with a 450 splash. Fighting smart, Sheamus redeems himself by eliminating enough people to survive a ten-man elimination match, posing with his arms held on either side of his head as he sneers, the bodies of his opponents behind him. Ibushi, Eli Drake, Luke Gallows, Scott Dawson, Moose, Chad Gable, Lince Durado, Big E, even his own partner Cesaro couldn't last long enough to be successful. He chuckles and breathes it in, enjoying the disdain on the crowd's faces.

Asuka does much the same in a female's Ultimate X match, weakening arms and kicking other women until they're too breathless and unable to climb, to stop each of them from getting the X hanging overhead. Laurel Van Ness, Bayley, Sasha, Mickie James and Naomi have no choice but to watch from various spots in and around the ring as she poses and grins manically with the gigantic X over her head.

Glad that the matches are all finally finished, Stephanie wanders around and collects the competitors she needs, leading them out to the ring. Marty Scurll, Charlotte Flair, Paige, Luke Harper, Shelton Benjamin, Bray Wyatt and AJ Styles all stand around the ring, waiting for her to make her announcement. "Now, it's the end of another cycle of Team Work," she says, looking between the crowd and the wrestlers. "You all tied at the highest amounts of points so now we have to have a tie breaker. To end the show, all of you will compete in a battle royal right here, right now." There's whispers from all surrounding her and Stephanie raises a hand. "Except for you, Paige. I want you to select a stand in. Someone you trust to take your place in both Battle Royal and as a potential winner of the cycle."

Paige mulls it over, not looking overly pleased, before taking a microphone. "I select Sonya Deville," she says, her fellow Absolution teammate looking eager and pleased as she joins her. The two of them whisper back and forth for a few moments as Stephanie gets out of the ring and the others file in to begin the match.

Sonya goes straight for Charlotte, startling the woman's champion with strikes and kicks, leaving her with no room to catch her breath or recover. She tries to fight back but finds herself against the ropes and, before she can struggle away, Sonya hits her with a bone rattling clothesline that sends her up and over, eliminating her. Bray and Harper snarl at each other before grabbing- Bray at Marty Scurll and Harper at AJ Styles, both trying to outdo the other. Bray succeeds in eliminating Scurll before Harper even has AJ close to the ropes, then stands there, laughing at him, before he hits a short lariat, sending AJ down hard and hoisting him up like a bag of potatoes, sending him down cruelling to the floor below.

This shuts Bray up and he eyes his former family member grimly, circling him slowly for a few moments, before they lock up. Sonya is approaching Shelton but neither pay attention, both fighting to get the upper hand... when Bray twists Harper's gangly body into another Sister Abigail and laughs viciously as he stands over him, sneering. Harper recovers quickly however, and grabs Bray, moving towards the ropes when Bray snaps, "Luke, _stop!_ " His former leader's voice snaps through him like a physical entity and his shoes skid against the canvas as he looks over at him, wide eyed. Bray cackles before gripping him by the back of the neck and dragging him down until they're eye to eye. "You will never be rid of me," he informs him coolly before throwing him over the top rope, Luke's feet hitting the floor before he can fight off Bray's influence. He then slaps the mat and storms off, snarling to himself for his weakness.

Shelton's reluctance to fight back against Deville has quickly faded, his arms around her as he hoists her up for a suplex. She rolls away and grabs the ropes, levering herself back up before returning the favor to him, Shelton unable to shift his weight to keep her from doing so in time. Bray watches, amused at the violence being exchanged between the two of them, before grabbing Shelton and tossing him out, laughing at the annoyance on Sonya's face. "I used to know someone like you," he calls out to her. "She liked destruction and mayhem too. I think-"

Sonya doesn't let him finish, diving upon him with kicks and punches that wind him. He staggers back, gaping at her, still laughing breathlessly, when she glares upon him. One roundhouse kick later and he's leaning against the ropes, clearly out of it. She steps back and rushes forward, landing a solid knee to his face, which sends him back, tangling him up in the ropes. She follows this up with a clothesline, sending him out of the ring. One dropkick later, and she claims the win for the cycle, Paige diving into the ring and hugging her hard as she celebrates with her friend. "You did it!" she cries, a grin spreading across Sonya's face as she realizes that yes, she definitely had. "I knew you could!"

All of a sudden, worlds are available to Sonya. She can now go for any title she likes in any federation. Potential and success right in front of her nose. She likes it.


	114. chapter 114

With the end of one cycle, a new one begins. Stephanie stares down at the list of competitors and makes a vague noise under her breath. Nothing looks very promising. She sighs and puts the match card out, eager to get it done and over with so she can turn her focus back onto the Elimination Chamber. Wrestlemania. Everything that WWE has its fingers in in the immediate future.

First match of the night is a six man tag match, Johnny Mundo teaming with AJ Styles and Matt Sydal against Chad Gable, Austin Aries and Lashley. There's just no good defense against Lashley, especially when Gable suplexes everyone and Aries just plain fights dirty to hold onto what he feels is his, so it's not much of a surprise when Lashley gets the winning pin against Sydal, but it's still disappointing for those of them who wanted to be the one to get the winning point, to not be seen as much of a failure right here, right now. So damn close to Wrestlemania season.

Moose defeats Cesaro, and Marty Scurll outlasts Rowan, Cody, Shelton, Dawson, Elias, Harper, Baron, Sheamus and Rusev to walk out the winner in a ten man battle royal. Kiera Hogan faces off against Asuka, knowing she has little chance but refusing to give up against the other woman. She fights, snapping Asuka's head back with vicious punches, trying to do everything she can think of to take her off of her feet longer than a few seconds, with not much of it working. She gets to the top turnbuckle by some chance, but when she flies off, she's met by Asuka's boot and lands in a heap a few feet away. Asuka goes after her when she's distracted by something she sees out of the corner of her eye, brows furrowing as she stares at Nia Jax who approaches the ring, her opponent at Elimination Chamber not even needing to say a word to keep Asuka's focus on her long enough for Kiera to recover, rolling Asuka up. Asuka kicks desperately but Kiera's always had a good base and digs her toes into her boots, holding on until that three count is achieved, Asuka scrambling away and glaring down at Nia, spitting angry Japanese at her. Nia just laughs mockingly at her before turning and walking back up the ramp. Kiera has just scrambled out of the ring, in disbelief at defeating two of the most scary women in the business in less than a week, shaking her head in awe at herself before she quickly heads up the ramp to leave before Asuka shakes it all off and goes after her.

The main event of the night is a six man pitting John Cena vs Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kenny Omega vs Dash Wilder vs Braun Strowman vs The Miz. Four on the apron, two in the ring, Omega and Nakamura eye each other as they start the match- just for Miz to get impatient and tag himself in at some point. He's just whipped Omega against the ropes, about to clothesline him down, when Strowman tags in. Immediately Mike skids to a stop and gapes up at him before backtracking and slapping Cena on the chest, rolling out of the ring and sneering up as Cena yells down at him. He slowly gets in the ring then and faces off with Braun while the crowd jeers and encourages Strowman on with various yells and chants. While Cena gets tossed around, Mike hesitantly climbs back onto the apron and oversees everything with a smirk, blinking when Nakamura tags in against Strowman. He fights, sure, even lands a couple of brutal kicks that echo throughout the arena, but it just takes one clubbing blow from Braun's massive fists to send Shinsuke down.

Nakamura grips at his chest as he tries to recover, get the upperhand back, but there's no chance, Braun still battering him down so easily that it's embarrassing. Cena tags himself back in and dropkicks Strowman, who roars back and pummels Cena down almost as easily as he had Shinsuke. But Cena rebounds, hoists Strowman over his shoulders and sends him flying out of the ring to the mats below, Strowman landing awkwardly on his massive arms. This downs him for long enough that Dash gets in the ring and the two men brawl, Cena making quick work of him, but then Miz returns and tries to fight Cena off, just to get swept off of his feet. He stares up at the ceiling and swallows hard, Cena setting up for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but then Omega rushes in and sends him out to join Strowman, setting Miz up for the One Winged Angel... but Mike fights free and lands a brutal knee to the side of Omega's head, following it up with the skullcrushing finale... just for Nakamura to run in and land a kinsasha on Mike, flattening him and leaving Omega vulnerable as Shinsuke stumbles, then drops over him in a weak pin attempt. Which only gains him a two count and a flood of frustrations.

Braun recovers then, and clears the ring- just for Cena to return as well, and fight him off once more, sending him toppling outside, almost into the crowd. Cena then turns his attention onto the only person left in the ring and AAs Dash Wilder, pinning him to a chorus of displeased boos and chants from the crowd as he walks out with one of the first points for this cycle.


	115. chapter 115

With Wrestlemania approaching, many shows are throwing out as much content as they possibly can to gain eyeballs, garner interest in their product to hopefully sustain themselves for the rest of the year. Due to this, Stephanie finds herself with a bunch of ROH guys after Honor Reigns Supreme along with the usual locker room full of people waiting for a match, an opportunity to get points towards winning the cycle and moving on to compete for any federation's title of their choosing. More names means a bigger headache and she sighs, pinching her nose as she tries to make it all work.

Once the show begins, things move smoother than she'd expected, but there are still minefields to avoid, dramas to ease. Scorpio Sky, a fair deal fresher than Kazuchika Okada, outlasts the world champion, targetting his neck and weakening him before finishing him with the Final Answer. Hania the Huntress defeats Mandy Leon, and Chad Gable teams up with Mustafa Ali, his suplexes and Ali's highflying just enough to take Silas Young and Punishment Martinez out.

Tenille Dashwood finds herself facing off against a familiar face in Asuka but even her renewed energy post-WWE isn't enough to overpower the winner of the first woman's Royal Rumble, Asuka leaving her no choice but to tap out to her arm submission as she digs back and applies so much pressure to the joint that Tenille has to blink back tears as she grips her arms on her way out of the ring. Following this, Trevor Lee takes advantage of Elias' wounds following Braun Strowman's attack and claims the win easily.

The next match pits Matt Sydal against Vinny Marseglia who, to his credit, comes alone, his only companion being the axe that he regularly carries over his shoulder which he leaves on the outside of the ring. Sydal tries, even lands a few highflying moves that leaves Vinny struggling to breathe, but he's tenacious and more than a little crazy, so he keeps fighting back, leaving Sydal wondering what it'll take to keep him down when he gets caught with a dropkick straight to the chest that downs him after a failed attempt off of the top rope. Vinny then scrambles up and lands his senton bomb, pinning Sydal and hoisting his axe up, spinning it around with a crazed look on his face as he laughs loudly at the victory.

In a tag match pitting Finn Balor and Nick Jackson against Dalton Castle and Shaheem Ali, Finn wins against Ali, neither Dalton nor Nick looking all that thrilled afterwards. Karl Anderson finds himself in a handicapped match and manages to hold his own against Harper and Jay Lethal, eventually getting the win against Lethal after a failed Lethal Injection attempt leads into Anderson striking out with a Gun Stun. Nia defeats Charlotte, and Laurel Van Ness claims the point after curbstomping Mickie James.

Next up is a four team tag turmoil match that pits Kenny King and Roman Reigns against Cedric Alexander and Rowan, Miz and Bobby Roode, and Shelton Benjamin and Caleb Conley. Rowan takes Shelton out early, eliminating him and Conley quickly, and the two men argue on their way up the ramp while Cedric and Rowan prepare for their turn. Except that Roman isn't playing around, quickly dazing Rowan with a superman punch and spearing Cedric when he tries to assist, eager to have a point on the board. He hoists Cedric up and spins him into a sideslam, barely noticing as Roman eliminates Rowan, taking out yet another team. A determined Miz enters, undisturbed, but Kenny tags himself in roughly before Roman could try anything and meets Mike with a clothesline that sends him flopping down onto the mat, staring up at the lights as Kenny digs his nails into his head and drags him up, spinkicking him in the chest and sending him back down. Kenny's so focused on Mike that he barely notices Roode entering the ring until Roman takes care of him, spearing him clear out of the ring, both men tumbling to the outside. Grabbing Mike once he's staggered back to his feet, Kenny racks him up into a DDT and steps up on his toes, putting more weight on the pin as Mike struggles, the three count hitting no matter how hard he fights.

The main event is an eight man Ultimate X match, the prize hanging over the ring taunting the men staring up at it as the ring slowly fills up. John Mundo, Matt Jackson, Matt Taven, Ishimori, Christopher Daniels, Leon St. Giovanni, Kazarian and TK O'Ryan wait until the bell rings to begin, Taven and TK quickly working together against Daniels and Kazarian, as Mundo and Matt Jack begin brawling which leaves Leon St. Giovanni and Ishimori struggling to get to the ropes to climb across to the bright red X. Mundo avoids a superkick and hits an enziguiri of his own, downing Matt Jackson and dashing over to the ropes, kicking Ishimori off and bodyslamming Giovanni away. He then tries to climb when Matt Taven grabs him and forces him off of the ropes, meeting him with an elbow before scrambling up himself- just for Daniels and Kaz to send TK into the turnbuckle he's tentatively balancing on, flipping Taven off to the mat below. He blinks dazedly, watching as Daniels and Kaz climb together, going slowly across. He's up and moving as Daniels reaches out and touches the letter, he and TK working together to grab their swinging legs and pulling until they let go of the crisscrossing ropes, slamming them down.

Mundo tries again but this time it's Ishimori and Leon working together to send him away, just for Taven and TK to dropkick both men over the ropes out of the ring entirely, both hitting the mat below with a satisfying thud. They turn just to discover Daniels and Kaz have recovered, scouting them and landing a spin kick and a lariat respectfully that down them. Unexpected for all of them is Mundo and Matt Jackson on the top ropes on either side of the ring, Mundo landing _End of the World_ while Matt strikes out with a legdrop from the top rope that succeeds in winding Taven, TK _and_ Kaz. Daniels only just scrambles away unscathed enough to climb to the top and start to scurry over the ropes, finally reaching out and getting another touch of the X. He shimmies closer, peering down quickly to make sure no one's moving, before grabbing the X and pulling it down with him as he drops to the mat, laughing breathlessly at the hard fought win.

Kaz recovers quickly once he realizes what's happened and claps his friend on the back, holding his arm up in victory as they snicker at the losers scattered on the mat around them.


	116. chapter 116

Stephanie squints down at her match list for the night and sighs. This cycle is starting off fine, but it's clear just how the WWE list is desiccated by injury and drama. She taps her thumb against the screen for a few moments, shaking her head. It had been a point of pride for her that so far, WWE's won every cycle, but she fears that that streak might end now with so many of their guys unable to compete. Clearing her throat, she decides to put that fear aside and focus on tonight for now.

The first match of the night pits Mandy Rose against Charlotte, and it's clear early on the Absolution member is out of her depth as her attempts at offense are thwarted almost every time, and Charlotte keeps overwhelming her with chops, clearly not bothered by her much. Mandy, getting frustrated, tries to chop Charlotte's legs out from under her but Charlotte reverses and gets ahold of her, wrapping her up in the figure four, arching up to alter the move into the figure eight. Mandy struggles, she does, even tries crawling towards the bottom rope, but she's so tangled up that she can't go far and eventually has no choice but to tap, her future in the first ever Elimination Chamber flashing before her.

After dodging a series of superkicks with growing impatience, Suzuki defeats Nick Jackson with a cradle piledriver. The next match sees Bayley facing off against Brandi Rhodes, and she has an early advantage against the other woman, Brandi unable to get any significant amount of offense in, but just as Bayley lands a Bayley-to-Belly, familiar music hits and Sasha comes down to ringside, motioning to Bayley to ignore her- when Brandi, struggling to recover, takes advantage of this distraction and rolls Bayley up, eaking out a three count. As Bayley sits there, confused, Sasha shrugs and rolls into the ring, an overly concerned look on her face as she comforts her friend on her loss, ignoring the crowd buzzing around them.

A tag team turmoil match is next, Ishimori and Scott Dawson on one corner, Finn Balor and Jay Lethal on the other while Cena starts off against Bushi, their partners- Austin Aries and Matt Jackson- wait for potential tags on the remaining corners. Cena fights, he does, but Bushi has no ring rust working against him, and has no qualms against going all out, unlike Cena, who has the Elimination Chamber to think about, so it's no real surprise when he overwhelms Cena with sharp offense, eliminating him after knocking Aries from the apron and landing a diving facebreaker that dazes Cena just long enough for the three count. He tags Matt in, but Finn works quickly, efficiently, taking Matt out quickly and finishing it with the Coup de Grace off the top. Dawson comes in then, and Finn tries to gain the upperhand against him but Scott is one step ahead of him for the most part, until Finn escapes long enough to get a tag, Jay Lethal coming in against Ishimori. They exchange blows until Ishimori lands a piledriver, moving to pin Jay- just for the crowd to gasp in surprise when he kicks out, recovering enough to avoid a second piledriver attempt and land the Lethal Injection, pinning Ishimori and the ref hitting three before Dawson could scramble in and break it up.

Sonya Deville comes to the ring for a match against Rosemary, who is currently in a knee brace and walking gingerly. Despite her best efforts- and maybe some supernatural assistance, Sonya ultimately fairs better than Mandy had earlier and lands a solid roundhouse kick that sends Rosemary to one knee, Sonya taking advantage of this to tangle her up in a kneebar, Rosemary struggling and screaming through the pain, hissing and clawing at Sonya in an attempt to free herself, but unable to work through the pain before passing out entirely, forcing the ref to declare Sonya the winner.

Takahashi walks out victorious after a six man match against Naito, Big E, Brian Cage, Baron Corbin and Tyrus, and next up is a triple threat match, Seth Rollins walking gingerly to the ring to face off against Dash Wilder and Dolph Ziggler. Dash boots Dolph out of the ring early, turning his attention to Seth- just to find himself quickly overwhelmed by Seth's unflinching determination to eak out another victory this week. Despite his hip feeling like a huge knot of agony, all of his muscles tight and aching after the sixty five minutes he'd spent in the ring earlier, Seth's just landed the ripcord knee, going for the curbstomp, when Dolph returns and superkicks him so hard that he drops backwards, hitting at an awkward angle and unable to do anything but watch through hazy eyes as Ziggler grips Wilder, wrenches him around into a ZigZag and pins him with a sneer aimed at Seth as his victory slips through his fingers. Face tense in disgusted anger, Seth can do nothing but roll out of the ring and stumble up the ramp, struggling to breathe as he thinks about something similar happening at the Chamber this Sunday. Shaking his head desperately, he disappears behind the curtain as Ziggler continues to mock the crowd by celebrating obnoxiously back in the ring.

The main event is a nine man battle royal, in which the ring quickly fills with Adam Page, Davey Boy Smith, EC3, Kofi Kingston, EVIL, Roman Reigns, Lance Archer, Sanada and Zack Sabre Jr. Ethan lingers back and watches as the others pair off, brawling in an attempt to eliminate each other. EVIL, already injured, falters as this weakness is targetted by Lance Archer's fists, who eventually clotheslines him clean out of the ring. He slaps the apron in frustration before glaring up at Archer and leaving with a hand over his face. Adam Page is next to go after Roman meets his moonsault attempt by punching him out of thin air, then hoists him up and tosses him out. Zack Sabre Jr and Kofi brawl themselves onto the apron but Kofi maintains his tenuous balance better and snaps Zack with a boot to the face, knocking him out and off of the apron in one quick move.

Growing tired of Ethan lurking about, avoiding action, Roman targets him next, but Ethan meets him blow for blow until he finds himself staggered close to the ropes, blinking heavily as Roman lunges forward to superman punch him. He collects himself and drops a shoulder, hoisting Roman up and over the ropes, before dropkicking him clean out of the ring. In the other corner, Lance Archer eliminates Sanada with a close lariat that sends him down hard, and Ethan's celebration comes to a quick end as Davey Boy Smith boots him over the top rope, eliminating him. Lance then rids the ring of Kofi after reversing his Trouble with Paradise attempt into a belly-to-belly suplex that tumbles him over the top rope.

Davey turns to face Lance and the two partners smirk at each other, observing the ring emptied of all but them. "Well, what do you know," he mutters before they lock up, testing each other's strength. Lance out-powers Davey briefly, before Davey strikes back with a German suplex. Lance recovers enough to land a snap DDT, then a fallaway slam when Davey staggers back up. Momentum rolls back towards Davey, however, when he catches Lance and maneuvers him around for a piledriver. It doesn't last, as Lance shakes it off and catches Davey with a missile dropkick, staggering him back and leaving him vulnerable to elimination, which Lance pauses, clearly close to doing a big boot of his own. But he stops short and instead hits a rattling clothesline to send his partner over instead, looking down at him as his arm is raised by the referee. Getting his feet under him once more, Davey makes a face but nods in some thanks for his father's patented move not being used against him like that.


	117. chapter 117

Wrestlemania. Ronda Rousey. Contract signings ending with her husband put through a table and Stephanie's hand stinging. The McMahon daughter exhales sharply, wishing she could find Team Work to be a safe haven but it's not. Looking at the list of people who'd advanced so far in the cycle, she can't help but gnaw at her lower lip. Everyone's tied at one point, and there's only a month left in the cycle. She buries her face in her hands and grouses, "Come on, ONE two-pointer, that can't hurt, can it? Really?" She shakes her head and stomps out of her office to put the list of matches up, glowering around at any loiterers who dare to look twice at her before ducking back into her office to watch, desperate and hopeful for _someone_ already on the list to win again so she wouldn't have to think of a way to break a tie of anywhere from 30 to 50 people, depending on how many there may be by Wrestlemania itself if no one's broken it by then.

The first match of the night pits Xavier Woods against Braun Strowman and oh, Xavier tries, he does, but there's just no chance against a Braun who's still angry after losing his Wrestlemania title opportunities at Elimination Chamber. Every bit of offense Xavier tries is swatted away until Braun grabs him and bodyslams him down, pinning him within only a few minutes. Ignoring the referee, he hoists Xavier up with another roar, which makes the crowd react in varying degrees, before slamming him down a second time. Finding no challenge here, he storms up the ramp to look for new avenues for his rampage as Xavier struggles to get out of the ring with assistance from concerned referees and medical staff.

With the move similar to what she'd eliminated Sonya with back during the Elimination Chamber, Mickie James defeats Ruby Riott thanks to the referee ejecting Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan after both attempt to disrupt the match. Next up is the first round of a Beat the Clock challenge, Sheamus taking Kenny King out with a Brogue Kick within 4:28, the time to beat which seems too long for most, but too short for Sheamus, his survival in this series of matches not even hinging on five minutes.

Kevin Owens and Suzuki face off in a brutal, hardhitting match that leaves a lot of the audience cringing away as they fight back and forth, Suzuki barely flinching at most of Kevin's hits, Kevin stumbling only a little but always fighting back. It happens suddenly, Suzuki flying at Kevin just to get snagged out of midair and dropped down in a brutal popup powerbomb, Kevin pinning him in some relief. In the second Beat the Clock match of the night, Bobby Lashley and Luke Harper wrestle to a tie, neither man able to get the upper hand long enough to eak out a pin on the other before 4:28 have passed.

Caleb Konley beats Cesaro, and Luke Gallows manages to outlast Nick Jackson after avoiding a series of superkicks, strong-arming him and hitting him with a lariat that nearly turns him inside out before pinning him at 4:09, only just beating the time already set.

The thrown together team of Alberto El Patron and Roman Reigns finds themselves in an elimination tag match against AJ Styles and Matt Sydal, Matt Jackson and Karl Anderson, and Trevor Lee and Eddie Edwards. Matt Jackson and Anderson fail to work together early, possibly because of the result of Gallows vs Nick, and partially because of this arguing, Anderson finds himself eliminated early as Alberto snaps off a brutal kick to the side of his head, locking in his armbar and wrenching back with a smug smirk up at Matt, who is so angry he doesn't even look like he's considering helping. When Karl taps, he hops off of the apron and walks resolutely to the back, like the loss doesn't matter at all to him. The team of AJ Styles and Matt Sydal last a little longer, but all it takes is Trevor Lee to sneak a tag in and blindside Sydal with a small package driver and then they're done as well. Roman enters and he fights Trevor as best as he can, but he keeps tagging in and out with Eddie Edwards, the two of them putting aside their disdain for each other to compete as best as they can. Which works until Alberto lunges around the ring and takes Eddie out, allowing Roman to down Trevor with a spear and pin him. Alberto doesn't seem thrilled at losing his opportunity at a point for the cycle but it'd been nice to see Lee lose, so he lets it go. For now.

Brian Cage is the ultimate winner of the Beat the Clock challenge, defeating Big E after snagging him out of mid-air off of a splash attempt, and piledrives him into the mat at 2:38.

Next up pits Titus O'Neill against Johnny Mundo, the two men circling each other as they feel things out. Johnny laughs at him and prances around confidentally before ducking a wild swing, responding with a solid boot to the side of Titus' head. He shakes it off after a few moments and dashes after John again, just to get drop-kicked and hit the mat hard. "Titus Worldwide, huh?" he taunts him, kicking him with the toes of his boot when he tries to get back up. "Trust me, Worldwide Underground could dance circles around your little group of jokers."

Titus glares up, trying again to get his feet under him, just for John to hit a standing moonsault, winding him further. There's still fire in his eyes, however, and John pushes his face back, adding to his anger as the Lucha Underground competitor laughs mockingly at him. Titus gets up as John goes to the top rope, looking for the end of the world, and chops his ankle, sending him down awkwardly onto the ropes. He groans and holds himself, laying at an angle as he tries to breathe. Titus tries to grab him and drag him off, but John regains control of himself and punches Titus in the side again and again until he lets go him, landing back into the ring while struggling to catch his breath. John then trakes the opportunity and leaps, twisting enough to hit the perfect End of the World, curling Titus up into a pin. He laughs and raises his hand as soon as the three count is administered. Titus Worldwide's bad luck continues as Apollo comes to the ring next for his match, defeated by Rowan within a couple of minutes following this.

Main event is a female Ultimate X match, Sasha Banks, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Alexa Bliss, Bayley and Asuka crowding the ring as they look up at the red x hanging over them, taunting them. As soon as the bell rings, Asuka begins stalking an unnerved Alexa around, Liv and Sarah standing back to back and staring at Bayley and Sasha, who are avoiding each other's eyes. They still fight together, however, Sasha taking out Liv with a clothesline that leaves Sarah vulnerable to Bayley kicking her in the abdomen. Liv and Sarah are, ultimately, a lot less experienced than the former womens champions, and before too long, Asuka has her woman down as well, sprawled out and pleading for leniency, and the two Riot Squad members are all but motionless, Liv managing to twitch and whimper under her breath as Sasha and Bayley look up at the x, both tense, eager for the other to do something, make a move.

It's ultimately Bayley who rushes Sasha first, attacking her with brutal blows that leaves Sasha down, struggling, but she regains herself and rushes after her former best friend, the two struggling to gain even an inch while leaning dangerously against the turnbuckle. Finally it's Sasha who gets the final blistering blow in and Bayley's tenuous grip slips and she hits the mat hard, Sasha sneering down at her as she climbs the last few inches and grips the rope, shimmying over. Looking down and locking eyes with the helpless Bayley, she snags her fingers into the ropes holding the X to the crisscrossing wires before undoing it and holding it up in success, absorbing the defeat on her former friend's face before hopping down close to her and showing off to the crowd, who starts booing her.

Backstage, Stephanie reads and rereads the list of those who have points in the cycle. "Dammit!" she snaps, slamming the laptop shut. "Still all one-pointers..." She groans. "What am I going to do..."


	118. chapter 118

Stephanie is tired. Aggravated. Barely able to think straight. So she takes the planned card for Team Work, pins it to the wall by the titantron, returns to her office and collapses on her couch, half-listening as the matches drone on on her TV, lost in thought about the tag match she and Hunter suddenly find themselves in against Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania.

The first match is a six-man that sees Baron Corbin walk out the victor, even Ring of Honor champion Dalton Castle and Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura unable to stop the sudden wave of momentum the former Money in the Bank winner is riding, also leaving Mark Briscoe and Finn Balor in the dust as he takes advantage of the others all being distracted with each other, or too exhausted to move after a lengthy exchange of offense to hit Deep Six on YOH for the win.

The next contest pits Ruby Riott against Bayley and Asuka in a triple threat. The leader of the Riott Squad laughs at the Raw women as they eye each other, neither exactly liking each other but aware that they need to work together against the dangerous, virtually unknown woman across from them. It doesn't work well, Ruby meets Bayley with a solid boot to the midsection, then hits a close forearm, sending Asuka out of the ring. Bayley tries to fight back but Ruby manages to hold her own for awhile, eventually kneeing her in the head, squirming out of the Bayley to Belly attempt. After kicking Bayley hard, she hits a diving senton and pins her, smirking as Asuka hits the mat with her fist after failing to intervene, the two women glowering at each other.

The next is a tag match pitting friend against friend as Cesaro finds himself partnering up with Sanada, watching Jay Lethal and Sheamus eye each other across the ring. "Whatta know, fella?" Sheamus yells across at him. "Back here again, are we?"

Cesaro smirks, shaking his head. "Ridiculous," he mumbles, rolling his neck and listening to it pop and ease some of the tension in his shoulders as the bell rings and they begin. Lethal nor Sanada know what to expect, finding it funny when Lethal tags Sheamus in against Cesaro, but the fact that they've been close friends for a very long time now matters not as they lay into each other with a level of brutality most tag partners have never shown each other even in the worst of times. The crowd buzzes as Cesaro lariats Sheamus down just to get knocked back himself with a solid boot and on and on it goes, the two men fighting cheerfully, their insults sounding more like jokes amongst friends.

Finally Sanada has had enough and tags in when Sheamus whips Cesaro against the ropes, just to immediately eat a brogue kick and the pin, Cesaro laughing and shaking his head, not even bothering to enter the ring and save his temporary partner, Jay Lethal too agog to do anything as Sheamus roars out his victory, pounding his chest until Cesaro smacks him on the back of the shoulder, the tag champions nodding at each other and leaving as one. "What the hell happened?!" Lethal demands, venturing into the ring and nudging Sanada's still form with his boot, still shaking his head in disbelief.

Taking advantage of Rosemary's various injuries, Sasha uses her frustration towards Bayley and her own dwindling Wrestlemania prospects to quickly defeat the woman, forcing all of her weight down onto Rosemary's weakened knee and smirking as she flails and struggles, too weak to kick out after a Bank Statement. YOH recovers for his partner, winning in a seven man Battle Royal next, Tyrus and Jay Briscoe both thrown out early by EVIL and Naito, Eddie Edward barely able to see thanks to the brutalty of his recent matches and eliminated from the match third, Adam Page laughing down at him before turning his attention to Naito, who flies out of the ring next at the hands of EVIL. EVIL and Page had then turn their attentions onto each other, scratching and clawing for any advantage they could get over the other, when YOH, struggling just to stand after bits of offense he'd survived from each of the others throughout the match, lunge forward and get his hands under both of them, eliminating them with little to no forewarning. "SON OF A BITCH!" Page screams, trashing various things around ringside even as EVIL calmly turns and walks off, his eyes glinting dangerously at anyone looking at him twice.

The main event is a six man tag, Seth Rollins watching boredly as his partners filter into the ring- Kongo Kong and John Cena. He smirks at them, quirking an eyebrow as Cena salutes him almost mockingly. He feels like saying something, reminding them that he's cursed as a partner, both Ambrose and Jason Jordan's injuries still weighing on him, but he has no emotional connection with Kong or Cena the way he had with Dean and, to a much lesser extent, Jason, so he keeps quiet, picks at the black straps around his wrist as their opponents make their way down. Takahashi, Fantasma, Bushi. A weird trio, almost as odd as their own. Neither side gels well. Cena stays in too long, Kong gets antsy and storms in, brutalizing Fantasma as the referee screams at him, neither Seth or Cena too eager to interrupt the monster's rampage. Finally order is restored and the match continues, Cena locking in the STF but both Takahashi and Bushi storm in and break up the submission, neither Kong or Seth all that eager to help but ultimately backing Cena up as they glower at the other team.

Once things are calmer, Cena tags Seth in with a warning glare, urging him on before taking his place behind the tag rope. Seth tries, he does, but his mind is on the triple threat match at Wrestlemania, how it would feel to have that IC belt around his waist. Because of this, he finds himself down on his back, staring up at Bushi in a daze. It's his turn to be saved from a pin, and Kong tags in and all that Seth or Cena need to do for awhile is watch the man tear everyone who gets in his way apart. Which is fine until Kong starts to lose it entirely, risking them to be DQ'd, so Cena tags himself in quickly, taking Takahashi down with a heel hook. He's just locked in another STF when Bushi interrupts with a solid boot to the face, Seth running in and catching him with a switchblade. Bushi rolls out and Seth taunts Fantasma, who seems in no hurry to interact further with Seth. Seth just barely gets to the corner when Cena tags him in, looking a little ashen after that kick. So Seth does what Seth does best and flies around the ring, attacking Takahashi with knees and wild punches until he's wavering.

He can taste victory, so close, _so_ close, when Fantasma tags in. Seth laughs at him, brushing his sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes, before lunging forward. Tries to land the ripcord knee but Fantasma dodges. Seth feels some of the wind forced from his lungs as he's knocked over with the force from a flying lariat, blinking up at the lights as he's pinned- but no, some sense returns to him and he kicks out at 2, quickly scrambling away and meeting Fantasma with a solid boot to the face, both men wavering and panting for breath. The crowd buzzes, sensing the end is near, and then Seth meets an advancing Fantasma with a knee to the face, the man crumpling to the ground and, when he forces himself back up a little, trying to stand, gets stomped back down to the mat as Seth curb stomps him down and pins him.

He laughs breathlessly as the referee lifts his hand in victory, closing his eyes and imagining the same result at Wrestlemania.

Backstage, Stephanie updates her file half-heartedly, watching the list of 1 points growing and growing and... She hesitates and stares in shock, a small smile crossing her face. She gets up and all but dashes out of the room as quickly as she can in high heels, staring around for the obvious. It's not hard to find who she's looking for, their hair a dead giveaway in the sea of blondes and brunettes, and she quickly runs up to the woman, throwing her arms around one Sasha Banks. "Thank you so much!" she all but sobs into the frozen wrestler's shoulder before pulling away and walking off like nothing had happened.

Sasha gapes, frozen and very confused, as Stephanie returns to her office and smiles at the one, solitary, 2 flashing on her screen.


	119. chapter 119

Frustrated. Tired. Stephanie's family is melting down around her. Shane with this Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn nonsense, her father suspending Roman Reigns, and her own issues with Ronda Rousey. All of this is making last year look like child's play. She sighs and turns on her monitor, relieved to be able to focus on something relatively simple instead of everything else going on around her.

The first match pits Sami Zayn against John Cena and, although most everyone expects an easy win, Sami surprises everyone by holding his own, Cena's frustration and Sami's recent mean streak working together to help Sami escape an AA attempt and leaving Cena staring at the lights after a teeth rattling Heluva Kick, shocked and disgusted with himself when he realizes he's lost while still struggling to get Undertaker to accept his challenge- again. While he slaps the mat and growls, Sami celebrates overhead, a cruel smugness about him.

Jay Briscoe defeats Jay White and the startling match conclusions continue when ROH's Brian Milonas eakes out a win against Shinsuke Nakamura. who isn't expecting his ability and speed and ultimately eats a baldo bomb for his lack of foresight.

The following match is a tag match mixing guys from ROH and NJPW and Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian can only gape as they discover that they're on opposite sides of the ring, Daniels teaming with Marty Scurll while Kaz finds himself standing side by side with Cody. While Scurll and Cody seem eager to go at each other, whenever Cody or Scurll tries to tag them in against each other, neither do anything, just stand stubbornly by the ropes and wait for one of the others to get impatient and tag back in, spitting curses and insults.. On the other hand, when Kaz finds himself against Scurll, he has no problem taking him out and, when Daniels is in against Cody, he fights as dirty as ever. This eventually comes to an end when Scurll takes advantage of Kaz refusing to tag in and takes out an exhausted Cody easily, neither member of SoCal Uncensored seeming disturbed by the match's finish as they hop off of the apron and leave side by side up the ramp, Cody glowering up the ramp at them as he slowly recovers from this loss.

Carmella forces Samie Sakai to tap out with the Cone of Silence, and all it takes is one RKO for Randy Orton to end Flip Gordon'a best chance pf making the score board. Likewise, Shea,us ends Ortiz quickly after a brutal fight, nearly turning him inside out with one well-aimed Brogue Kick.

Following this is Dalton Castle against Matt Sydal, both Boys turning up their noses whenever the highflyer tries talking to them. This appears to get Dalton's ire up as he ramps up his offense, yelling at Sydal for looking at his Boys as he suplexes him around with reckless abandon. Sydal struggles, gasping for air, and Dalton swats aside his attempt at a 450 splash, grabbing him and landing a solid bang-a-rang before pinning him, hands immediately drifting to his Boys' faces when they join him, fans already going insane as Dalton laughs at them, the affection in his eyes overwhelming to the Boys even after all of this time.

Using it as a warm up match, Bray is taking all of his anticipation for the Ultimate Deletion out on Scorpio Sky, everything he learned from Daniels and Kaz the last few months nearly meaningless as Bray takes all of his offense, barely flinching as he laughs at each strike. There's very little for Sky to do but eat Sister Abigail, Bray laughing even louder after he kisses his opponent's forehead and sweeps him over to plant fim into the mat brutally before pinning him.

Austin Aries walks out the victor in a triple threat match against Takashi and Santana, and champion's advantage continues to hold as AJ Styles outlasts everyone else to be the victor in a ten man elimination match, Jinder Mahal, Fandango, Kenny King, Cesaro, Finn Balor, Brian Cage, Mark Briscoe, Beer City Bruiser and finally Tyler Breeze all reacting to their eliminations between a mix of anger, resignation and disappointment.

Tye Dillinger's lucky number is indeed ten- and he proves it when he survives a match against Braun Strowman when the group of tag teams he'd demolished singlehandedly on Raw come out and keep him out of the ring, the ref only half-heartedly chastising Heath, Rhyno and the others before continuing the count. To everyone's credit, they all scatter in a rush when he roars in anger, tossing things around and wrecking most of the ringside area before giving up and storming up the ramp.

After Charlotte wins a seven-woman Ultimate X match, leaving Tenille Dashwood, Becky, Bayley, Allie, and Natalya all in some fruitless brawl, the grin on Asuka's face sharp and dangerous as another point slips through her fingers as her Wrestlemania opponent walks backwards up the ramp, their eyes locked as she spreads her arms out, ever the sign of regality and pose as she WOOs happily.

The main event is Seth Rollins vs Lashley and the Architect continues his spree of hardhitting, awe-inspiring matches, countering what he can of Lashley's brutal offense, hitting knees, splashes off of the top, forearms, everything and anything he can think of just to try to knock the large man off of his feet long enough for a pin. He gets sloppy, opens himself up for a suplex, Lashley slamming him into the mat and hoisting him up for a second, so bone-rattling and impactful that Seth really has to dig deep to kick out, looking pale and a bit sick when he gets to his feet.

He shakes it off sufficiently, however, and even manages to meet Lashley with a solid kick to the face before scrambling to the top rope where he goes for a Phoenix splash, coming down hard upon Lashley's midsection. He gasps and tugs at his hair when Bobby kicks out, a soundless yell of disbelief coming from him before he turns, finding Lashley struggling to his knees. Eyes glinting dangerously, Seth gets a running start and stomps him down into the mat, following the forward motion down enough to grab him and roll him into a pin, using all of his body weight to tangle him up, not allowing him to kick out with both what little strength he has remaining and sheer force of will. He gasps and leans into it as the referee raises his hand in victory from the ramp, both having wisely escaped the ring before Lashley's angry rampage could begin in earnest once he gets back up to his feet, disbelief and anger overwhelming him at this loss.

It doesn't wipe out the pleased look on Seth's face, however, and he absorbs the moment as the crowd cheers him on, also happy for his win.


	120. chapter 120

In the lead up to Wrestlemania, Stephanie takes the week off. Focuses her attention on Team Work instead of Raw, watching from afar as the wrestling world keeps ticking- new matches are finalized, others are slowly worked towards being made. She's just glad to get a little break from constant violence thanks to one Ronda Rousey. She shudders at the thought of the woman winning a match and finding her way onto Team Work in the future. Forcing these worries aside, she focuses on the car. On the matches that are in the process of beginning on the monitor across from her.

To start the night off, Finn Balor defeats Matt Jackson easily enough after diminishing his speed with a number of slingblades amd solid kicks to his recently injured leg, just to follow it all up with the coup de grace once he was ssure he had time to climb the ring and perform the move. Adam Page turns things around for Bullet Club by defeating Eli Drake, sneering down at him afterwards as he lays in a heap after he'd hit a back-to-belly piledriver. Despite Moose's strength in the match that follows this, Hirooki Goto is just a little more stubborn and he outlasts, eventually defeating him after avoiding his spear and grabbing him, knocking him flat with the GTR.

Shaheem Ali and Will Ospreay face off next, the crowd sure it knows how this will end, just to sit in disbelief when Shaheem walks out the winner after rolling up Ospreay following a solid knee and succeeding at holding him down _just_ long enough. Shaheem can see his title reign flashing through his mind and _almost_ feels bad for him even as he celebrates his victory.

A five woman match follows, Nia Jax immediately going after Asuka while Sasha Banks, Carmella and Woman of Honor competitor Mayu Iwatani stand frozen for a few moments before realizing the Empress and Irressistable Force is lost in their own little bubble, allowing Sasha and Carmella to fall into trading offense, Mayu keeping her distance as she absorbs, trying to find a good place to interject herself to the match. Nia's angered screams on the outside are distracting and Mayu is rewarded for her single-minded focus on the two brawling women when Sasha misses knees from the corner, Mayu making sure Carmella isn't going anywhere before snagging Sasha into a bridging dragon suplex, pinning her. These actions don,t endear her to the crowd or the shocked women in and around the ring but she's definitely not here to make friends as she smirks back at them on her way backstage.

As if Stephanie's sick joke at testing Braun Strowman's ability to wrestle in a proper tag match, he finds himself teaming with Marty Scurll against Petey Williams and Sami Callihan. It's a good way to work out some of his frustration, throwing around his opponents and even using Scurll as a weapon at times. He doesn't tag in Scurll once and it's not long after he'd sent his _partner_ into a waiting Petey on the outside, he hoists Callihan onto his wide shoulder and slams him down like he weighs nothing, pinning him with a dismissive scoff. He doesn't even pause to look at Scurll on his way out of the ring.

The main event is a seven man Elimination Chamber, Nick Jackson, Leon St. Giovanni and Cody starting while EC3, Harper, Jinder Mahal, Rowan end up in pods. Nick and Cody spend most of the two minutes they're given attacking Leon, while barely half-heartedly swatting at each other... just for Cody to hit the Disaster kick and pin Nick in the distraction of the first pod opening. Nick still looks shocked as he leaves the temporarily unlocked cage, Cody quickly forgetting him and turning as Leon quickly meets the same fate, eliminated within moments. Rowan is out first and Cody brawls with him, holding his own with some difficulty, until Harper is freed from his pod. From there, the Bludgeon Brothers double team him and he loses whatever momentum he'd gained, losing in a hurry after they sweep his legs out from under him, Harper pinning him.

EC3 to his credit does better than Cody, sends Harper back first over the ropes onto the steel mesh outside as soon as he's freed from the pod and uses his adrenaline to duck Rowan, hitting a 1%er before either could recover, pinning Rowan. Harper snarls and hoists Ethan up for a slam but before he could finish the move set up, Jinder is released and grips both of them, landing the Khallas. Not content. he hits the move a second time on Ethan and pins him. Harper rushes after him, the match's end wavering elusively before them both... when Jinder catches Harper in a gutbuster, sweeping it into another Khallas and pinning him for the victory.

He stands before the jeering crowd and sneers, lifting his hand in victory as their anger does nothing but fuel him for the next win, the next point that he will claim for the cycle.


	121. chapter 121

Stephanie paces around her office. She still feels sore from her latest training session to get prepared for Wrestlemania, but sore in a good way. Strong, capable. Capable of beating Ronda Rousey. Maybe. She hopes. She worries her lip for a few moments before giving herself a good shake and forcing her eyes to focus on the card before her. It's satisfactory, considering, so she hands it off and sits back to watch, not in the mood to leave her office as the show begins.

The opening match is an elimination tag match, a member from each team entering the ring while their partners wait on the apron for opportunities to tag in. Cody, SHO, Flip Gordon and Suzuki start things off, Jay White, Finn Balor, Kongo Kong and Trevor Lee watching closely as the bell rings and the four men square off. SHO and Flip immediately go after each other but Cody plays it smart and avoids Suzuki's incoming attack by rolling out of the ring and circling it, wagging his finger smugly. The crowd is distracted between watching the action in the ring and the shenanigans going on outside as Suzuki chases him around, trying to get him into the ring so they can fight properly. Cody rolls in after a few rotations, and then rolls away again- in time for the recently tagged in Balor to elbow- Suzuki, who'd been right behind Cody. Dusty's son laughs as Suzuki and Finn begin brawling but he's forgotten there being four of them legal until he eats a dropkick and goes face first into a turnbuckle. He scrambles away and dives to a tag, forcing a disgruntled Jay White into the match. While Suzuki and Balor continue to fight around the ring, Jay stalks Flip around, pointedly keeping him away from his corner, none of them eager to see Kongo Kong enter the fray.

Flip dives just to get snagged and caught in a crucifix hold, Jay hitting elbows repeatedly until Flip is a limp mess against his back and the referee has no choice but to announce his elimination from the match, Kongo Kong not understanding for a few minutes, lurking at ringside until he finally understands and plucks a recently tagged out Suzuki from the apron, slamming him into the barricade wall. This distracts Trevor Lee just enough for Finn to hit a switchblade before going up top and stomping down upon him with the Coup de Grace, pinning him before he can regroup. "And then there were two," Jay mocks him before turning sharply and tagging in an incredulous Cody, lounging on the apron as the two men face off, slowly feeling each other out.

This lasts until SHO tags back in, then Jay finds his spot and takes it, tagging back in and moving to eliminate SHO as easily as he had Flip... when SHO meets him with a solid kick to the jaw, rocking him and leaving his eyes watering as he stumbles around, trying to regain his senses... just to walk right into SHO's waiting hands as he's hoisted up and planted into the mat in a package piledriver, shame coursing through his veins as he's pinned and eliminated, Cody too dazed to do anything to stop the match's abrupt conclusion. SHO laughs, absorbing the fans' reaction and ignoring all of the negativity around him as he celebrates the unexpected win.

Following this, Karl Anderson uses both his general knowledge of Kenny Omega _and_ the man's distraction due to Ibushi's well-being to defeat him with a rocket kick after Kenny takes too long to set up a Rain Trigger. Nick Jackson is the winner for his team in six man tag action, taking out YOH with a well-timed superkick while Dash Wilder and Naito keep Shinsuke Nakamura and Takahashi busy on the outside. Rocky Romero's desperation to survive and Braun's weakened knee is the pnly thing that brings about this match result, the crowd buzzing as Rocky wins by countout after getting Braun out far enough away from the ring and kicking his leg out from under him, before running back in and waiting patiently, watching carefully just in case Braun _could_ recover in time. When this doesn't happen, Rocky doesn't wait to celebrate, wisely rushing for the back before Braun could regain his footing and take chase.

Outlasting Kelly Klein and Becky, Naomi takes advantage of Asuka being too focused on trying to maybe finish what Ronda Rousey begun with Mandy Rose and wins the Ultimate X match, large symbol of victory held over her head as she grins up the ramp, leaving the others behind to gape at her, annoyed. Matt Jackson wins against Davey Boy Smith Jr and Ibushi fights through his injuries to defeat Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay succeeds in outperforming Juice Robinson and Zack Sabre Jr makes everyone forget the vast difference in their sizes when he makes Luke Gallows submit to his Boston crab/Calf slicer combo.

Rowan makes quick work of David Finlay, and Sanada wins against Scott Dawson. In a Team Work first, following this is a mixed tag match pitting Matt Sydal and Allie vs Harper and Natalya. The Bludgeon Brothers' devastation continues as Harper takes Sydal out early and Allie is so fearful and concerned that it's only a matter of time before she's snagged in the sharpshooter and forced to tag out, Natalya celebrating while Harper stands impassively on the apron, clearly wanting more targets for his cool anger.

The main event is a triple threat pitting Lance Archer vs Okada vs Adam Page. Okada dominates easily, keeping both Archer and Page struggling as he attacks coolly and calmly, seeming as bored as ever with them... which ends up being his downfall as Page recovers sooner than expected and uses his fixation on Archer to dropkick him over the ropes, Archer then clotheslining him harshly, sending him face first into the barricade wall, knocking him out just enough for the two still in the ring to focus on each other. Lance tries, he really does- Page even thinks he has it a couple of times. Brutal boots to the face, even a powerslam that leaves Hangman feeling like all of the breath's been rid from his lungs. But he keeps fighting, looking for that one move that will leave Archer as motionless as the current IWGP champion on the ground outside of the ring.

It all clicks _finally_ when he wiggles free and reverses a powerbomb attempt into a Rite of Passage, laughing breathlessly as Okada scrambles into the ring just a second too late to be able to break up the pin. Page smirks and taunts Okada with a mocking wiggle of his fingers before rolling out of the ring and spreading his arms out while sauntering up the ramp as if to absorb all of the hate and derision aimed at him from all the people resentful and jealous of his success at such a young age.


	122. chapter 122

Five days. Stephanie can't believe how close Wrestlemania is now, all of the things she's worked towards both professionally and physically finally within reach. She closes her eyes and exhales, imagining how it'll feel to defeat Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle- the headlines, the success of it all with her husband by her side. She smirks. It'll definitely make up for his loss to Seth the year before and her getting put through that table.

But for now, she forces her focus onto the week's Team Work. How its current cycle is slowly concluding as well. She stares at the list of names before her and sighs, putting together a match card. Mostly multi-man matches, because it's so close, and she doesn't want another injury or something to hinder Raw's chances at doing well.

The first match of the night is a triple threat pitting Asuka vs Su Yung vs Mayu Iwatani. The three women go all out, exchanging blows and kicks, elbows and knees that just makes Stephanie flinch. And that's the least of what they do with slams and german suplexes and submission attempts. It's a relief when Asuka finally books Mayu from the ring and floats Su into her Asuka Lock, wrenching back until she has no choice but to tap, unable to crawl towards the rope without risking breaking something. Asuka laughs and prances around the ring, pleased with another win this close to her women's title opportunity.

John Cena defeats Mark Briscoe fairly soundly, ending him with the AA, and Stephanie pointedly ignores the word vomit he aims at the camera, still pleading with the Undertaker to appear at Wrestlemania- do _something, say_ anything!

Next is an Elimination Chamber match, Petey Williams, Cedric Alexander and Jinder Mahal starting things off while Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Brian Cage and Austin Aries find themselves in the pods, waiting for their chance. Jinder prowls while Cedric and Petey feel each other, locking up before Williams sweeps Cedric over, kicking him in the side. It's clear Petey has them both in experience but Cedric has determination, continuing to fight back harder each time Petey knocks him down. This lasts until Jinder surges forward, trying to reverse Cedric's momentum into a pin, just to receive a knee to the skull to break it up and a sudden Lumbar Check, Cedric pinning him and... eliminating him. The words fail to make sense to Jinder as he sits there and stares at the referee, almost too shocked to properly argue his point.

Once he's finally gone, Williams and Cedric fall back into what they were doing- just for Karl Anderson to enter. The three of them fight, struggling to get the upperhand on the other when the belt collector, Austin Aries, is freed at the end of his 2 minutes. He comes in like a house on fire, sending them all flying and brutalizing them with various bursts of offense, locking in his Chancery move on Cedric and twisting and tearing at him in an attempt to get him tap- just to receive a solid kick along his spine from Karl Anderson, who doesn't even seem fussed when Austin gets to his feet and approaches him. Gravity suddenly shifts and he can feel his shoulders on the mat but there's nothing he can do, no leverage he can gain as he's pinned for a three right there and there. He realizes on his way up the ramp he'd been so focused that he hadn't noticed Luke Gallows' entrance and had sorely paid for it, cursing as he kicks his way up the rest of the way.

Petey Williams is the next eliminated when Brian Cage enters and begins waylaying everyone, slamming Petey back with such force that he can barely breathe, much less move enough to kick out. Cedric, Luke and Karl all turn their attention onto him, then, opting to get rid of the big guy before moving on to wrapping the match itself up. It takes all three of them to first weaken him enough, then to help Cedric land the lumbar check on the outside chain link before pulling him back into the ring, all three of them piling on to pin him. He rages, screaming and tearing at the cages before yelling at the referees, hesitantly making his way backstage with more than a little disgust on his face.

Karl is busy laughing at him when Luke grabs him, plants him face first into the mat, using his stunned expression to wrap him up in a steady roll up, eliminating him to the shock of his tag partner. "Dammit Luke!" he snaps before turning, smirking as he backs out of the ring, eyes locked on him. Gallows more than understands why when Cedric hits the Lumbar Check on him next, pinning him. As Cedric celebrates, Luke scoffs at his partner for not forewarning him.

Becky uses Nia's distraction with Alexa to hold on through their match, continuing to weaken her bit by bit until she manages to pin her, shocking everyone by winning against the challenger for the women's title at Wrestlemania so relatively easy. Next up is a triple threat match pitting KM vs Jay Briscoe vs Braun Strowman. It's simple enough for KM to act like he's too out of it to compete, alternating between the outside and the apron. So he waits until Braun is close to defeating Jay before kicking him hard in the leg, something the Bar's been targetting the last few weeks. He staggers him to the ropes and lands a dropkick, smirking at him as he struggles, gripping his leg and fighting to catch his breath after he hits the floor below, allowing KM the time needed to finish Jay off and pinning him, smirking as the crowd boos at this, clearly wanting more Braun. Which they get when he finally makes his way back inside and hoists KM up, all but slamming him into the ropes and out of the ring with one wild, fearful push with his large hands.

The main event is a tag match pitting Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev against Dolph Ziggler and Mustafa Ali. Nakamura and Rusev eye each other distrustfully while Ziggler rambles to Ali about what they will do to win, Ali barely paying attention to him as he stretches and prepares for this final obstacle before his Cruiserweight title opportunity. Shinsuke starts off against Ali while Dolph and Rusev stand on the apron, watching. Rusev is quiet and focused, but Dolph keeps distracting Ali by yelling at him at the worst possible times and opening him up to knees, and kicks, and other bits of offense from the eccentric man before Ali gets sick of it and storms over, tagging Dolph in. Dolph sputters, "You had it! What are you doing?" before getting into the ring- just to be met with Shinsuke tagging in Rusev. His shoulders slump as he faces the angry Bulgarian, landing dropkicks and famousers, trying so hard to work his way up to the zigzag and an early pin, but Rusev knows him too well, and there's very little Dolph can do as Rusev works him over, even tagging in Shinsuke to do even more damage.

The two of them settle into their roles as partner, even starting to have fun with it, as Ali shifts anxiously on the apron. Nakamura hoists Dolph up and slams him back, covering him- just for Dolph to kick out at 2. Shinsuke shakes his head somberly and reaches out for a tag, letting Rusev back in. Rusev strong arms Dolph into a standing position, then kicks him in the side of the face, dragging him to the middle of the ring and pinning him. Ali is fighting with himself, clearly, but ultimately lets it go when Sihinsuke shifts as if planning to intercept him. Rusev lifts his hands up and roars in success as he manages _another_ win on Rusev Day. "Yeah!" he barks out, slamming his fists against his chest as he looks forward to Wrestlemania nad becoming champion again.


	123. chapter 123

Stephanie is in pain. She grips her arm and closes her eyes, struggling to type one handed as she sets up the last card for this cycle. Determined to see things through, she ignores the whispers, the curious gazes of those who keep walking by her office, reminding her each time that she'd forgotten to shut her door behind her. Finally finishing with the horribly long list of names provided to her thanks to all of the wrestling events held by WWE and their various competing rosters, she gingerly pulls herself up and hands over the list of matches, immediately dropping back against the leather sofa and pressing an arm over her face, listening as the show begins.

The first match pits Frankie Kazarian against El Desperado and, although El Desperado puts on as hard a fight as he can, in the end Kaz's cunning and in-ring knowledge overwhelms him and Kaz eakes out the victory after hitting a rolling stunner. Following this, Kurt Angle wins against Mojo Rawley by avoiding his tackle and snagging him in an angle slam, twisting him further into the ankle lock until he taps desperately, unable to escape as Kurt digs in deeper.

A 20 man battle royal follows this, so many man filling the ring that it's impossible to keep track of who's in it at first, much less watching all of the action going on inside the ropes. It's almost a relief when some start to get eliminated, Jinder Mahal tossing Mark Briscoe out first, followed by Elias. On the other side of the ring, Rusev overpowers Matt Taven and sends him out to the floor, the Kingdom leader slapping the ground before rounding on the crowd. "Kill the conpiracy!" he yells at them before storming up the ramp and out of sight. Eli Drake is gone next, felled by a solid kick from Seth Rollins, who then sends him up and over. Rusev experiences the helpless frustration of being eliminated next as Jinder snags him with the kallas and then sends him out, elbowing him hard when he hangs on stubbornly, eventually snagging him just right and sending him down off of the apron.

Meanwhile, Cody is targetting AJ Styles, who is teetering on the cusp of being eliminated, when Cody notices someone stumbling by, gripping his lower stomach and breathing heavily. Letting out a cruel sort of laugh, Cody grabs Shane McMahon and holds him close, raising an eyebrow as AJ stumbles, glaring at him. "Let him go!" he barks out, stepping forward to come to Smackdown's commissioner's aid. Cody just laughs and tightens his grip on Shane, applying pressure to his throat almost daringly as he stares at AJ. Shane struggles but then Cody's grip changes, digging an elbow into his abdomen. AJ watches as Shane turns pale, almost purple, and dives at Cody, who throws Shane away, exchanging punches with an incensed AJ. Shane tries to help but he's so breathless and trembling that it only brings more problems, Cody kneeing Shane in the midsection and sending him back against the ropes, then turning his attention to AJ and making him join Shane, the two of them struggling to breathe against the ropes. Cody smirks, then laughs darkly before moving quickly and landing clotheslines that send them both over, eliminating them at the same time. He stands there while Shane struggles up, mumbling apologies to an angry AJ when Cody offers them a sarcastic wave before turning to find a new target.

The crowd is buzzing, finally able to keep track of things easier now that almost half of the ring is clear, watching as Undertaker and Seth Rollins exchange blows, Undertaker elbowing him hard and crowding him into the turnbuckle before hitting a forearm shiver that rocks him back, Taker then eliminating him by hoisting him up and nearly lawndarting him out into the barricade wall. The crowd is quickly distracted from this elimination, however, when they hear wild yelling- Cody with an unforgiving hold on Nicholas, temporary tag team champion, and Braun stepping up to glower at him, hands folding into fists. "Let him go," he warns Cody, a vicious look in his eye. "Or you're gonna get these damn hands!" It's more a roar than a statement but Cody only smirks at him, pushing young Nicholas at him. Braun grabs him and starts guiding him to safety when Cody lands a beautiful disaster kick, Braun stumbling and only just avoiding smashing Nicholas as Cody continues to attack him, Braun bracing his hands on either side of Nicholas. He finally blasts back when he's sure Nicholas is safe and elbows Cody hard, sending him stumbling back. Braun then takes the opportunity and hoists Nicholas up, leaning over to settle him safely on the apron. "Hop off, kid," he says gruffly, waiting until Nicholas is down and the referee is directing him up the ramp to safety to turn around- just to get met by a chair to the face. It rocks him and he feels himself falling out and hitting the floor with a teeth rattling impact. He groans and forces himself up, glowering at Cody. "I'm not finished with you!" he declares, turning to meet up with Nicholas.

Yoshinobu Kanemura and Silas Young are eliminated back to back by Harper, who then turns his attention to Matt Hardy. He fights with all he has but no amounts of deleting could spare him as Harper pummels him towards the rope, eventually booting him clean over to eliminate him. Undertaker gets rid of Johnny Mundo in similar fashion. Jinder takes out Cody, just to get eliminated next, Undertaker looking particularly proud of himself- until he turns to find Harper glowering at him. The two men circle each other, Taker adjusting his gloves until Harper lunges for him. He misses, Undertaker sidestepping him and swiping him with a solid fist to the face, Harper sputtering and only just recovering with one of his own. Undertaker tries to follow up but Harper barely flinches, overwhelming Undertaker and whipping him into the ropes before landing a solid boot to the face, Undertaker stumbling into the ropes and resting there- just for Ziggler to run out of nowhere and dropkick Undertaker, sending him out onto the apron. Roaring, Harper grabs him and sends him into Taker, knocking Ziggler loopy and eliminating Undertaker to the shock of everyone in sight.

Harper has just gone after Ziggler when Suzuki pulls himself out of a corner and lands a smooth dropkick that sends him over where Dolph is leaning against the ropes, trying to pull himself up and eliminates Harper just like that. After that, it only takes Suzuki a few moments to repeat the process with Ziggler, claiming the win for himself. He stares out over the crowd, smirking at the mixed response his victory receives.

New Women of Honor Sumie Sakai defeats Dana Brook, and following this is Brock Lesnar vs Rowan. Heyman is smug, obviously content in his beast's ability to take out the Bludgeon Brother... when he gets out of an F-5 and rolls to the outside. Heyman's sharp eyes sees it before everyone else, hopping onto the apron with an agility most wouldn't expect from a man his age and size. "Ref! Ref!" he hollers, trying to alert him but the ref pays him no mind, lecturing him for trying to interfere, and all Paul can do is watch, frozen, as Rowan slams his massive hammer into Lesnar, downing him immediately. Numbly Paul drops to the floor below and watches, lips parting as Rowan, now rid of the hammer, pins Brock Lesnar. Pins the current Universal Champion. All Paul can do is stand there and laugh in a shrill, disbelieving fashion as the shame of his culpability in all of this washes over him.

Christopher Daniels wrestles Primo Colon and continues SoCal Uncensored's luck for the evening by defeating him fairly soundly with Angel Wings. In six man tag action pitting Chuckie T, Punishment Martinez and Cedric Alexander against Jay Brisco, Daniel Bryan and Scorpio Sky. Thanks to Jay and Scorpio Sky taunting the crowd and sabotaging Daniel by doing all that they can to keep him out of the ring, Cedric gets the win by pinning Scorpio Sky after a Lumbar Check that rattles him down to his teeth. Brian Cage is the winner in a triple threat match against Ibushi and Baron Corbin, and Kelly Klein takes her frustrations from losing the Women of Honor tournament out on the six other women in the Ultimate X match, waiting for her best opportunity to climb up and grab the elusive X hanging over all of their heads, Asuka, Charlotte, Naomi, Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax and Bayley all watching with growing disappointment and anger from various places around in the ring as she celebrates her win, teeth flashing in the lights overhead as she laughs, waving the X around gleefully.

Main event time. Jay Lethal comes out first, contenting himself to sit in a corner and watch his opponents' extravagant entrances, Dalton Castle sandwiched by his fan carrying boys, and Shinsuke Nakamura gyrating out to the ring to the sounds of the audience singing along with his theme music despite his questionable actions towards AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. While Dalton and Jay prepare for the action that will surely start as soon as the bell rings, Nakamura sprawls out in the corner and watches them with a smirk. The boys leave and the bell rings but he doesn't move, Dalton and Jay frowning as he motions at them to proceed without him. Which they do for a few moments before growing impatient and moving to collect Shinsuke, working together to drag him into the melee, the three of them beginning to brawl as Nakamura fights to get free of them. His struggles only intensify when Dalton snags him and moves to suplex him, Jay moving aside and then following up with a spinning spinebuster that Dalton breezily claps at before gripping Nakamura again and slinging him back into a bridging German which Jay breaks up with a solid kick to Dalton's back, wagging his finger warningly at him. While Nakamura struggles upright, Jay and Dalton begin to fight for the upperhand against each other again, both too close in power and speed to tell who may succeed so soon- when Nakamura rejoins the fray by sending Dalton crashing to the mat with a lowblow that leaves both Boys flinching on the outside, fans flapping wildly in concern, just for Jay to get downed by the kinsasha when he turns quickly to grab Nakamura. Shinsuke grins and drops onto him, hooking his leg into the three count, and laughs as a visibly hurting Dalton grabs fruitlessly at him. Nakamura already half out of the ring. He laughs and bows mockingly at them before continuing backstage without a problem in the world.

Stephanie groans, realizing the show is over and she has to address the rosters. Struggling upright, she finds she's not alone and glares up at her brother. "What do you want, Shane?"

He shrugs, ambling closer to her. "You looked so comfortable, I decided to keep track of things for you." He hands her a sheet of paper and she swallows, realizing it's a revised list of the point rankings. She feels speechless, even a little choked up maybe, that her brother, who also is far from 100% and clearly not one of her favorite people, did something like this for her.

She sniffs, close to thanking him, when she actually _reads_ the name at the top of the page. Looks up at him, paling. "Him? Really?" Shane nods and she exhales roughly, standing up with some care. She doesn't need to look to know her brother is following her as she makes her way grimly out of her office and makes her way slowly down the hall, following the bulk of the men and women, all waiting for her verdict. She's careful not to change her stride when she spots him, only slowing when she reaches him and turning to face him. "Congratulations," she tells him, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "You are this cycle's winner. Please inform me when you've decided you're ready to challenge any of the current champions out there."

As she turns painfully, making her slow way back to her office, Shane falling into step next to her, she can still feel the creepy intensity of Rowan's stare between her shoulderblades. _Well,_ she thinks weakly, _at least we continued the streak of WWE roster members winning these cycles..._


	124. chapter 124

Paige rocks back and forth on her shoes, grinning a little while Shane leads her into the arena where the week's episode of Team Work is being held. "So while Stephanie recovers..."

"I have to have surgery soon as well," Shane explains. "And Kurt Angle is busy with post-Shakeup things, so we're leaving it to you. I'll hang around for the evening in case you need help with anything, but I foresee no problems. I'll stay out of your way and you let me know if you need anything, alright?"

She nods. "Thank you, Shane. Honestly. I'm not sure where I'd be right now if not for you coming to me with these opportunities. Wrestling is such a huge part of my life, I'm relieved to be able to give back in some way, you know?" He squeezes her shoulder and smiles before moving to sit down gingerly, a bracing hand pressed against his stomach while Paige pours over the list of talent available for the show.

Once the doors open and the night begins, the first match pits Takahashi against Richard Justice, Daryl being held by the ring announcer as his owner successfully defeats him after Justice misses with a splash and allows Takahashi to lock in the triangle choke, knocking him out. Carmella takes out Ember Moon when IIconics come out to distract the ref, Billie Kay throwing the title in and allowing Carmella to knock Ember out and pin her with Cleopatra, hopping around with as much pride as if she'd won on her own with no interference. Jey Uso holds his own and only just scrapes out a victory against Finn Balor after avoiding the coup de grace and using the shifting momentum to roll him up, and Randy Orton snags Dash Wilder into an RKO out of nowhere for the win.

Jimmy Uso uses his frustration towards losing the tag belts at Wrestlemania same as his brother and avoids the worst of Nick and Matt Jackson's offense just long enough to land a solid kick under Nick's jaw and repeat it for Matt, climbing to the top and landing a rough splash down upon both of them, pinning Nick successfully. Jeff Hardy takes out Drew Gulak with whisper in the wind followed by twist of fate, pinning him successfully and looking at over at the sea of wrestling fans surrounding them, supporting him no matter what. He stands on the top rope and bows thankfully towards them before hopping down and making his way slowly to the back.

After this, the vibe in the arena changes big time. Mandy Rose comes to the ring, Sonya Deville steadfast by her side, and stares around, a displeased twist to her lips which the crowd understands all too well when her opponent's music hits and Rosemary comes out in a sea of dark fog. Once she hits the ring and laughs in Mandy's face, anyone within sight of it all could tell you it's over already, but to her credit, Mandy tries. She throws punches, she even tries to hit her with a takedown- but Rosemary barely flinches, the demented grin on her face never subsiding... Even Sonya isn't enough to keep her at bay, Rosemary's focus enough to send her back off of the apron barely moments after she'd hopped up in hopes to distract the referee. It's clear when she bores of dealing with the remaining members of Absolution because her grin tightens and she grips Mandy by the back of her neck, hoisting her up for Red Wedding, before pinning her with a pointed smirk aimed at an annoyed Sonya. She laughs and stalks the ring, watching as Sonya pulls her downed friend to safety with a curious headtilt before scanning the crowd, teeth gleaming a dark red in the light overhead.

Following this, Akam dominates Tyrus quickly, the crowd barely having time to sit down after the bell rings before the half of the Authors of Pain have the match wrapped up with a powerbomb into a diving stomp from the top rope. In the triple threat match that's held next, Kairi Sane and Naomi work together to take Nia Jax out of the equation by targetting her legs, and then forcing her out of the ring to where she struggles to recover on the outside by the barricade wall. Turning their focus onto each other, Naomi and Kairi circle each other for awhile before beginning to exchange blows, Kairi holding her own fairly well. Neither of them forget about Nia, but they're so focused on winning this match quickly that when she does recover enough to get back up on the apron, it takes the women a few moments to notice. As soon as Kairi spots her, however, Naomi is right there with her to hit a duo of dropkicks that sends Nia back towards the wall, flushed and hurting. Naomi immediately tries to hit the Rearview but Kairi avoids and grabs her, Alabama slamming her hard and winding her. Taking advantage of the moment, Kairi scrambles up the ropes and shifts her weight, diving down and elbowing Naomi fiercely before pinning her. Nia, who'd seen it on the titantron, freezes halfway into the ring as the bell rings to mark the end of the match, slapping her fist against the canvas before slumping as Kairi cheerfully celebrates her win with the crowd mostly behind her.

No Way Jose defeats Kalisto and Scott Dawson sneaks a victory in a six man elimination match against Seth Rollins, Naito, Fallah Bahh, Matt Hardy and Rezar.

In the main event, Kazuchika Okada finds himself facing off with one maddeningly cheerful Bray Wyatt. They eye each other, Bray laughing to himself, before he spreads his arms, eyes closed as the crowd sings _He's Got the Whole World in His Hands._ Okada quells this, however, by spreading his own in the Rainmaker pose, the crowd whispering and collecting what they can as Okada bucks fall from the sky with the sound of coins dropping precluding it. Bray doesn't lose his amusement, even when the bell rings, and they eye each other, circling around the ring before Okada tries an early lariat. Bray has it scouted, however, and wags a finger at him before lunging forward to try a strike of his own which Okada deftly avoids. They continue feeling each other out until Bray lands the first blow, staggering Okada, who recovers enough to kick Bray hard, shifting into punches and elbows before suplexing him down and trying to bridge into a pin that Bray kicks out of at one, just to respond in kind with a swinging gut buster that Okada also kicks out of. Once back on their feet, the men adjust their clothes and elbowpads before growing more serious, things picking up as Okada meets Bray's attempt at a running attack with his dropkick, hoisting him up and hitting his death valley bomb which leaves Bray gasping and only just able to kick out at two.

Once back on his feet, Bray lunges forward and hits a throat thrust, Okada grasping his neck as he gasps for air against his protesting, sensitive muscles, just to get hoisted up for a swinging gutbuster which winds him even worse. Bray laughs softly in his ear, stroking his jaw almost tenderly. "Poor, naive child," he all but coos. "You should rid yourself of your obsession with material things, with money." He rolls from the ring and holds up an Okada buck. "Matt Hardy can save you like he saved me! You could be so much more! We can help you, you just have to embrace us, your new family!" He falls to his knees, arms outstretched, laughing, as he crumpled the dollar bill and lets it fall to the floor among the other, more pristine versions. This, however, gives Okada time to recover, time to get angry. By the time Bray returns to the ring, Okada is ready for him and scoops him up, slamming him down in a piledriver before dragging him back up to his feet, grabbing his wrist, and landing the Rainmaker lariat. As soon as Bray falls, Okada pins him and achieves the win. Not even waiting to have his arm raised, the IWGP champion rolls out and finds the damaged Okada buck, gently smoothing it out and returning to the ring to press the wrinkled bill to Bray's chest. "Kazuchika Okada needs no saving," he informs his motionless opponent before getting to his feet. Only then does he allow his arm to be raised to mark his success.


	125. chapter 125

Week two and Stephanie is still recovering, but this week Paige is off visiting family, and Shane and Angle are both busy with their respective brands post-shakeup so that leaves it to Drake Maverick, who looks curious as he wanders the hall, shaking the hands of those who greet him along the way to the office. He pushes the door open and slips inside, staring at the leather furniture, the wide screen TV, the lists of superstars waiting for his attention. He exhales softly before sitting down and getting to work compiling a decent seeming card for the week's show, tapping his pen against the growing list of matches before x-ing off more names from the list of those available. Once done, he squares his shoulders and heads out to place the match list by gorilla before returning to the office to diligently keep track of the score for this cycle.

Bringing back Beat the Clock, the first match pits Bobby Lashley against Matt Sydal and, despite Sydal's hazy offense, his speed and highflying keeping Lashley on his toes, it just takes one spear followed by a bone-rattling suplex before Matt is down and out, Bobby claiming the win at 3:29. Tyler Breeze competes against new Impact Champion, Pentagon Jr, and although the two men surprise the crowd by having a lengthy, competitive match, it shocks _everyone_ when Tyler snags Pentagon and lands an implanted DDT for the win after squirming out of a piledriver attempt. The whispers of the crowd is broken up by the official announcement confirming that they'd not hallucinated the three count on one of the hottest acts outside of WWE currently. Pentagon looks less than thrilled but to his credit, does reach out and shake hands grimly with Tyler, who appears as surprised as everyone else, pleasantly so.

In the second scheduled Beat the Clock match, Candice LeRae finds herself facing off against Ember Moon. Ember is confident, grinning easily, still riding the wave of her Raw debut and Candice circles her uncertainly before locking up with her, Ember easily getting the upperhand. She keeps managing it, overwhelming Candice with both superior upperbody strength and intense kicks. Candice keeps fighting back, however, working out of all pin attempts, but Ember is quick, riley, and it's only a matter of time before Candice gets caught in the Eclipse, leaving Candice dazed and unable to kick out in time. Once the bell rings at 3:08 and everything's done, however, Ember helps Candice up and hugs her, smiling when her opponent, still a little breathless and hazy, lifts her arm up in victory, pointing at her before rolling out of the ring to leave Ember to her victory.

In tag team action that follows this, Metalik gets the win for his team with Jake Crist against Finn Balor and Akam. The third round of Beat the Clock goes nowhere as Brian Cage and Hanson fight for domination well past the time Ember had just set, the match thrown out even as the two men continue to brawl in an attempt to prove who's stronger. Braun Strowman bats away Aerostar's speed and agility, eventually ramming him down to the mat with his massive hands, hoisting him up and hitting the reverse chokeslam before pinning him.

Su Yung and Charlotte have similar luck to Cage and Hanson in round four of BtC, neither women able to outlast the other long enough to do substantial enough damage to finish it in time to defeat Ember Moon's time. Neither look thrilled with it, Charlotte wiping some blood from the side of her mouth from an errant kick, staring holes into the side of Su as she escapes back up the ramp, laughing mocking at the former woman's champion. Jeff Hardy faces off with his brother and Jake Crist in a triple threat match next, but Matt merely laughs in his obnoxious, woken way, and slips out of the ring, watching in some amusement as his brother takes out Jake Crist with a sequence of moves from Whisper in the Wind to twist of fate. When Jeff looks out at Matt, his brother shrugs and motions with a blinding grin, so Jeff takes the win, nonplussed as Matt rolls in and lifts his hand cheerfully, laughing at the crowd as they cheer his brother.

With Ricochet keeping Harper busy with his insanely innovative moves, Zack Sabre Jr wears down Sami Callihan with slow, torturous submission applications until finally he has no choice but to concede the match or risk serious injury, his arm all but useless after so many wrist holds and armbars. Still stinging from everything going on with Su Yung and Braxton Sutter, Allie finds herself with a lot of aggression and limited places for it to go. Natalya puts up a good fight, even easing Allie into the sharpshooter, but she resists tapping out long enough to squirm her way over to the ropes, clinging to them desperately until the ref makes Natalya break it. Natalya turns back into the action just to get met by a superkick, Allie immediately segueing into a Death Valley Driver and pinning Natalya, her face immediately relaxing into a small smile as she celebrates her win.

In the seven man elimination match that follows, the ring quickly fills up with Bray Wyatt, Eli Drake, Fandango, Razer, Raymond Rowe, Braxton Sutter and Scott Steiner. Things move quickly when Razer and Rowe brawl unmercilessly just to succeed in knocking each other out in the middle of the ring, their arms dropped over each other and leaving the referee no choice but to count both of them down. From there, Eli Drake takes advantage of everything going on and ducks Bray Wyatt, landing a Gravy Train and pinning him. Fandango eakes out an elimination of his own after landing a shattering leg drop on Braxton Sutter, but then things switch quickly, Scott Steiner making his presence felt and weakening both Braxton and Eli with a flurry of punches before hoisting _both_ of them up onto his shoulders. Climbing to the top, he makes the necessary adjustments before diving- landing an avalanche samoan drop with both of them. From there, it's just a matter of Scott shifting enough to pin first Eli, then Fandango, successfully winning the match.

In the final Beat the Clock match of the night, Jack Gallagher finds himself facing off with Samoa Joe, who looks amused. Undisturbed as he flexes his wrists, adjusts his tape, taps the back of his boots against the mat to adjust how his feet are resting within them. Jack bristles at this but no matter how he approaches Joe, what he tries to do, he's overwhelmed by Joe's power at almost every turn. He does hit a few rough streaks of offense- a dropkick here, uppercut there, even dazes Joe enough with a couple of headbutts enough to sweep his leg and send him crashing to the mat, twisting in an Achilles lock to apply pressure to his recently healed foot injury, but it's distressingly temporary. Joe quickly kicks him away, the strength behind the blow winding Jack, and from there it's only a matter of moments before Joe snaps his head back with a heel to the face, Jack immediately feeling his vision go fuzzy as Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch, Jack struggling fruitlessly as the seconds tick away. Time has literally just ran out when Jack falls unconscious, the referee gripping Joe's hands as soon as the buzzer sounds and forcing Joe to break the hold.

Joe meets an approaching Brian Kendrick on the ramp, but he holds his hands up in supplication, giving the man plenty of space to walk past before continuing on his way to check on his partner. Jack blinks, dazed, as Brian kneels next to him, gaping up at him as he rests his head against his leg, the brown wrestling pants cool against his sweat soaked skin. "Brian," he mumbles.

"Yeah, I'm here, Jack," he says with a sigh, stroking his fingers through Jack's messy, bright hair. "My match is next," he continues conversationally. "You gonna stay out here for it or do you want help to the back?"

Jack's still really dazed so it's almost a relief when the referee collects him and guides him backstage so the show can proceed normally, Brian's face impassive as his partners and opponents join him in the ring, Lince Durado nor Sanada exactly thrilled with this arrangement as they face off with him against Mustafa Ali, Seth Rollins and Bobby Roode. Sanada and Lince go to the apron, which leaves Brian to start off with Seth, the two of them feeling each other out slowly. Brian's rough and dirty fighting style meshs alright with Seth, and he actually finds himself holding his own fairly well against the Kingslayer, careful to avoid anything that might leave him vulnerable to the curbstomp, checking his face in paranoia after Seth lands a solid kick to the side of his mouth. Everything still in place, Brian catches Seth and hits a standing tornado DDT, trying to shift him into the Captain's Hook.

Seth is tenacious, however, and knees Brian hard in the face, forcing him to free him. Brian is pissed, bad memories of that damn Itami all of those months ago breaking his noise, so he rolls over into his corner and tags in Lince before leaving the ring entirely, pacing around outside behind Sanada. He's so angry- for Jack, for himself... The rest of the match goes on without him and the next thing he knows, Sanada is in, taking out his own frustrations from recent losses in NJPW out on Bobby Roode. He climbs up onto the apron once he's a little calmer and watches as Ali tags in and takes Sanada out, the man rushing over and tagging Lince back in. Ali, sore from the various matches he's wrestled the last few weeks, is easy picking, and Lince hits a series of kicks before DDTing him down, leaving him vulnerable for the Golden Rewind, Lince achieving the pin to Brian's grudging relief. He'd not gotten the pin, thus no points for him this week, but at least now the match is over. He ignores both Sanada and Lince, hopping off of the apron and heading backstage to check on Jack, his face pale with frustration.


	126. chapter 126

Back from visiting family in England, Paige also finds herself once more manning the ship for the week's Team Work. She anxiously licks her lips and turns her back on footage of Shane going through the announcer's table over in Saudi Arabia once more before finishing off the card for the night's show. She blinks, realizing two names are left, and makes one last singles match, a small smile spreading over her face as she realizes the ramification of such a main event.

The first contest of the night is a gauntlet match, Allie standing uncertainly in the middle of the ring, watching as Sumi Sakai approaches the ring. TNA's Knockout champion and ROH's first ever Woman Champion goes toe to toe, the two women keeping even with each other until Sumi missteps after losing her balance following an attempt at a top rope move and Allie takes advantage, landing a Superkick and immediately following it up with an inverted DDT, pinning Sumi. Ruby Riott is her second opponent and Allie struggles more, starting to feel the strain of two intense opponents in a row, but she keeps fighting back, gritting her teeth against Ruby's brutal kicks and agility off of top rope moves, eventually reversing into the Allie Drop, pinning her.

She's just rolled away, holding her midsection, when her third opponent comes out. Mickie James has the edge in experience, but Allie's determination grows the more offense she takes, forcing herself back to her feet and taking another strike from Mickie before hitting her with a dropkick, grabbing her as she staggers and landing a facebuster. Before Mickie could recover, she twists her into Anger as Beauty, wrenching back on her recently injured arm until Mickie has no choice but to concede, a look of disgust on her face as she rolls out of the ring. Allie leans against the turnbuckle, hoping that that's the end, that she's won... when the Riott Squad music hits again and she watches through blurry eyes as Liv Morgan prances out to the ring, hair whipping this way and that. Allie tries, she really does, but even as inexperienced as Liv is in some ways, she's still quick enough to take advatange of weakness and before Allie expects it, she finds herself hit with the Jersey Codebreaker, flat on the mat getting pinned. She has no energy to do much more than lay there and listen to the bell ring, feel Liv kick her smugly before she flops out of the ring, exhausted and sore and frustrated by the loss as Liv celebrates overhead.

Following this, Otis Dozovic defeats Elias, Shinsuke Nakamura gets the pin against Silas Young after taking advantage of the referee's lack of focus after Silas accidentally was pushed into him to try out his new favorite combo of low blow followed by Kinsasha, and Tanahashi wins against Rusev. Aiden English then finds himself in a triple threat match against John Cena and Shelton Benjamin, Cena running roughshod over them both until Shelton fights back, suplexing Cena almost clear out of the ring. Aiden scrambles to his feet and follows this up with a spinebuster, before they toss Cena out of the ring, turning to stare at each other. Shelton has the early advantage, the athletic ability, but Aiden holds on to the last bits of his strength and twists away from another suplex attempt, hitting a whirring dervish before grabbing Shelton once more and swinging him into a reverse STO, somehow succeeding to pin him and roll out of the ring before Cena could recover enough to respond. It takes Aiden a few moments to realixe he'd just won, teeth flashing as he laughs, arms hoisted over his head in victory.

Dolph Ziggler wins against Chuck Taylor, and Bobby Lashley teams with Kalisto to succeed against Tucker Knight and Chad Gable. Billie Kay faces off against Alexa Bliss, who seems oddly reluctant to really wrestle, and Billie, quickly tiring of Alexa avoiding her, trips her up and rolls her up, digging her wrestling boots into the mat and pleasantly surprised when that ends up being enough to get the three count, the ref looking as confused as Billie is feeling.

Adam Cole sneaks into a victory in a 15 man battle royal after hiding until most had been eliminated, leaving an intensely glaring Rowan leaning over the ropes, watching the last trickle of superstars leave back the way they'd come. It's easy to grab him and tip him up and over, Adam not even bothering to wait to be acknowledged the winner as Rowan roars out angrily and takes chase, Cole slipping out through the crowd and somehow avoiding both Bludgeon Brothers on his way out of the arena. Sarah Logan then wins against Peyton Royce, and Braun Strowman makes quick work of a temporarily reunited Hardy Boyz, pinning Matt after reverse chokeslamming him onto a downed Jeff.

Then things go quiet for a few moments, the crowd buzzing while they wait for the main event. When the arena goes dark and Aleister Black's theme hits, the buzz turns into straight cheers and chants as he walks to the ring, jaw tense and gaze focused as he enters, easily drifting into sitting crosslegged while he waits for his opponent. He stands, however, when Paul Heyman intercedes, introducing Brock Lesnar the way only he could, emphasizing NXT champion vs Universal champion to the crowd's heightening intrigue. Once Brock is in the ring and the bell rings, Aleister and he examine each other, Lesnar with cool indifference and Aleister with careful determination to find whatever weak spots may be lingering after the Greatest Royal rumble, jetlag and whatever else. The frustrating thing is he sees none, and as soon as he takes a few steps towards him, Lesnar lands an early strike, rocking Aleister back in his boots. He gasps for air and glares out at a laughing Heyman, the mocking tones getting to him. He turns and lands a kick, not surprised when Brock barely flinches, rubbing dismissively at his chest as he raises an eyebrow at Aleister. He tries for another knee and this gets swatted away even easier, Lesnar now apparently toying with him, which only fuels Aleister's anger.

He attempts more knees, more kicks, throwing punches and almost trembling with anger as Lesnar continues to laugh off each strike. It's only when he slips behind Lesnar and tries a suplex that the games end. Lesnar turns on him quickly, snagging him in a hold of his own, sending Aleister flying back like he weighs nothing. He gasps, so shocked that he doesn't feel the pain until he's already draped over Brock's shoulders for an F5, so jarring that Aleister wonders how many of his teeth have chipped just from that. Before he can try to get back to his feet, or even fully remember how to breathe, Brock twists him into the Kimura lock and Aleister feels it then- pain throbbing down his spine, pulsing through his arm as the submission hold is locked in. He can see his title reign- his _career_ \- draining through his fingers and, as disgusted as he is with it all, he has very few regrets when he submits, Heyman encouraging his beast to let the hold go, Aleister writhing away holding his mercifully unbroken arm once done. Brock leaves as quickly as he'd come and Aleister struggles to his knees, watching him walk up the ramp with some anger and envy. _Someday,_ he thinks, gripping his title belt with tingling fingers. _Some day, people will speak of me with as much awe and fear as they do you._


	127. chapter 127

After a busy night trying to maintain the Raw superstars, Kurt Angle finds himself holed up in the office for the week's Team Work, rubbing his forehead and exhaling hard as he ponders the card. All in all, Team Work is easy, the guys less interested in drama and more determined to work towards their opportunity at points to better their chances at winning an opportunity to wrestle for any championships in any federation at the end of the cycle.

Stephanie had made the decision to include both NXT and 205 Live competitors to the cycles, so the list of names seem to be growing week by week, Angle biting his lip as he mulls over the match order once more before pushing himself up and going to place the card by gorilla so the wrestlers will know who's doing what to prove who deserves points this week. He smiles half-heartedly at the men and women who immediately surround the area, murmuring amongst themselves as they get a good look at the agenda for the evening.

First up is a tag team turmoil match, Akam and Zack Sabre Jr, Leon St. Giovanni and Elias, Drew Gulak and Shaheem Ali, and Kona Reeves and Dave Crist fill out the corners, all teams mumbling and debating amongst themselves who should start. Ultimately it's Drew, Elias, Zack and Dave, the other half of the teams taking their places on each corner to wait and watch for an opportunity to tag in. Which happens almost immediately as Kona tags himself in, annoying Dave. Elias doesn't last long either, slapping Leon across the chest and rolling out after one chop from Sabre Jr, circling the ring while shaking his head with an angry look on his face. Akam tags himself in when he gets frustrated with Zack's slow offense and Drew takes one look at him and forces the tag with Ali, leaving him and his tag partner and Kona to deal with the much bigger man... just for all three of them to get waylaid.

LSG and Ali think quickly and rid the ring of Akam for awhile, ducking his running attack and grabbing the top rope in time for him to fall over and out, hitting the floor with a thump. He glares up at them, just to get distracted by Elias who is still lurking around, and takes his anger out on him by gripping him by his head and slinging him into the barricade wall. This happens to give Kona time to regroup and he tosses LSG out into Akam's path of destruction before grabbing Ali and hoisting him up into his variation of the Samoan Drop, quickly pinning him before everyone else could look away from Akam's rampage and actually do something to stop him. He laughs and quickly gets out of the ring, smirking up at the other seven annoyed men, stretching his arms out to absorb the moment properly.

The crowd buzzes louder when the next match ends up being Kairi Sane vs Asuka. The two women circle each other in the ring, small smiles on their faces as they consider the competition before them. They know each other already, Kairi respecting Asuka and Asuka still keeping an eye on her homebase of NXT, not to mention their experiences at the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania weekend. "Watashi wa anata ni sore o kantan ni toru koto wa arimasen," Kairi calls out to her, eyes twinkling as they wait for the bell to ring.

"Watashi wa nani mo kitai shinaidarou," Asuka responds, her lips tugging into a devilish sort of grin as she eagerly moves as soon as the bell rings. They start slow, experimenting with the others' strength, stamina. Finally, things move into higher gear when Asuka lands a solid spinning back fist, rocking Kairi. As she struggles to regain her balance, get moving again, Asuka hits a kick that downs Kairi long enough for Asuka to attempt a pin, but Kairi kicks out. Before Asuka can work out another piece of offense, Kairi shakes off the lingering pain enough to shoot forward and spear Asuka down, sprawling out on top of her for a few moments to catch her breath. They get to their feet at the same time and stare each other down before rushing forward, Asuka taking Kairi down with a hip attack before gripping her around the middle and hoisting her up into a German suplex, holding her down for another pin attempt that Kairi gets out of at two. Asuka, growing frustrated, tries to sweep into the Asuka lock, but Kairi reverses it and gets her shoulders down on the mat, Asuka scrambling and kicking out at one, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman, who merely grins at her.

They regroup, getting to their feet and circling each other, trying to figure out what to do next, when Kairi lunges forward and strikes with a forearm, sending a startled Asuka down into the corner. Getting into position quickly, Kairi only wastes a moment stomping in place before racing forward and striking her with a forearm, winding Asuka and leaving her struggling to get back to her feet. Taking the opportunity, Kairi locks in the Boston crab but it's only on briefly before Asuka hits the ropes, the referee ordering the break which Kairi gives into a few moments later. Asuka struggles to get back to her feet just to get met by an Alabama Slam, her teeth knocking together as she hits the ring hard. Kairi pulls away from Asuka before cilmbing onto the top rope and diving, landing a harsh elbow to Asuka's middle. The crowd holds its breath as she rolls Asuka up into a pin, Asuka's struggle too weak to actually accomplish anything, the three count leaving everyone shocked but no one more so than Asuka, her lips parted in horror as she absorbs _another_ loss on her record. She pounds the mat a couple of times in frustration, watching Kairi as the referee lifts her hand in victory. Struggling to her feet, Asuka approaches Kairi, a dark look on her face that makes everyone fall silent, watching as the tension spreads across Kairi's face. Asuka looks like it pains her as she grips Kairi's hand and lifts it as well, silent acceptance of her defeat on this night.

Razer defeats TK O'Ryan, and Ruby Riott walks out victor against Becky Lynch. Natayla eakes out a victor against Charlotte after twisting her Figure Eight attempt into a sharpshooter. Vinnie Marseglia turns things around for The Kingdom by taking out Jake Crist. Randy Orton gets the final pin for his odd team with No Way Jose in an elimination tag match, outlasting the teams of Shane Thorne and Buddy Murphy, Matt Sydal and Daniel Bryan, and Jeff Hardy and Shane Taylor. Carmella wins against Bianca Belair after catching her in the code of silence and forcing her to tap, laughing all of the way to the back as she clutches the Smackdown Woman's title smugly. Dezmond Xavier finds himself in a handicap match against Matt Taven, Jonathon Gresham and DJZ, the only one out of the three willing to give him a break being his recent tag partner in Zema, Taven especially showing frustration over his unwillingness to help them overwhelm Xavier, before Gresham eats both his Final Flash and the pin while they argue vehemently on the apron. Dezmond laughs as he escapes Taven's anger, saluting Zema as he walks backwards up the ramp.

Even with wins against Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns has had a difficult month after losing twice to Brock Lesnar. It shows, especially in his match against Nick Miller. The Australian actually holds his own against him, using his distraction against him to avoid moves that ordinarily Roman would've hit with ease. He sidesteps another spear and listens as Roman sweeps straight through the ring ropes and hit the floor outside roughly. Turning, an evil idea seems to cross Nick's mind as he rushes up the turnbuckle post and dives out in a picture perfect moonsault, taking Roman down and winding him as his weighty gear digs into his chest and ribs. Scrambling back into the ring, Nick watches closely as the ref begins to count Roman out, just for him to start to recover at five. Nick shakes his head, weighing his options, before taking the turnbuckle again. This time, he lands a shooting star press, downing Roman _again,_ and making it back into the ring where he lays, listening. When the referee actually hits 10 this time, and the bell rings, Nick lays there in awe, the crowd's shocked reaction washing over him. It dawns on him after a moment and he scrambles to his feet, laughing uproariously as he takes in the distress on Roman's face as his arm is lifted. A countout victory, sure, but a victory none-the-less!

In the first ever mixed tag match held in Team Work history, Nia Jax finds herself in the corner of Brian Kendrick while Xavier Woods anxiously holds onto Franscesca and watches Su Yung stare at him, her makeup accenuating her frightful countenance. Brian barely blinks as Nia announces she's beginning, the men easing onto the apron and holding onto the tag ropes. Su and Nia quickly fall into offense, Nia quickly getting the upperhand as Su writhes away and grips her chest, gritting her teeth against the pain of Nia's strikes. She eats quite a few strikes and boots, even a few headbutts, but keeps struggling to fight back, just to almost get thrown right into her corner off of a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Kicking Nia hard, she scrambles over and slaps Xavier hard, his startled scream echoing through the arena. As she glares at him and crawls under the ropes to get away from Nia, he climbs into the ring and faces off with a smirking Brian Kendrick. Brian is very calculating, slow and methodical with his offense. Xavier struggles to get a handle on it, adjust his own speed to accomodate and figure out how to get the advantage over the veteran, when Brian seems to go limp through his Shining Wizard attempt just to sweep through it and grab Xavier, slamming his face into his knee, dazing him. Xavier tries to recover quickly, he does, but Brian is right on him, taking advantage of his weakness by hitting a leg lariat. Xavier struggles to his feet just to feel them get taken out from under him, Brian locking him into the Captain's Hook. Xavier struggles, trying to get to the ropes, no matter how Kendrick seems to be controlling his body with the submission hold.

The referee is right there, demanding to know if Xavier submits, and his voice and constant touch keeps Xavier with it, fighting through the numbness and pain until finally he twists and rolls, sending Brian into the corner and under the ropes, forcing a break of the hold. Brian holds on until four, breaking it with a snarl and kicking Xavier away. He gets to his feet just to let out a startled yelp, Su Yung's fingers digging into his long hair, tugging and holding onto him as he struggles to get free, his scalp throbbing as she arches back, holding him in place. Xavier gets to his feet, staring on in awe at his tag partner actually helping him, but before he can decide what to do, Nia is on Su, dragging her off of the apron and freeing Brian from her clutches. Kendrick is leaning over, gripping his head, when Xavier moves, finally hitting the Shining Wizard. While Kendrick is down, he leaps onto the turnbuckle, hops over to the top rope, balancing carefully, and dives elbow first onto Brian, successfully winding him and leaving him dazed as he moves into the pin. Nia and Su, still brawling on the outside, freezes when the bell rings, and looks up to find that Xavier had won. Su laughs and spits bright red mist into Nia's face to escape, rolling into the ring and smiling dementedly at her partner, who backs away slowly from her. This fear only makes her grin grow as she corners him, searching his face as he holds his hands up. "Hey, it's ok, look, we won. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" he yells, all attempts at remaining calm disappearing as he cowers before her.

She laughs and takes in his fear for a few moments longer before rolling out of the ring, walking slowly back up the ramp, all eyes on her as she takes her leave, none of them exactly relaxing once she's gone. "Never again," Xavier mumbles, closing his eyes before going to find his trombone, fear still deep in his bones. "Never, ever, ever again..."

The shocking wins continue as Jack Gallagher uses his submission know how to overwhelm Bobby Lashley's pure strength, outlasting his various attacks to weaken the man by repeatedly tangling his body up in various chokes and leg submissions until Bobby can barely stand, much less think straight, and from there it's a simple series of dropkicks to knock him down before trapping him in the achilles lock, digging down deep until Lashley passes out from the pain, the referee having no choice but to stop the match and award the win to Jack.

The main event sees Seth Rollins make his way to the ring followed by Andrew Everett and the two men eye each other, waiting for the bell to ring. Once done, they fall into it, feeling each other out only briefly before the real offense begins- Seth takes the ropes at a run and kicks him hard in the face after Andrew misses with a knee, but Andrew recovers enough to lift him into a spike Frankensteiner, just to get hit with the swingblade once Seth gets to his feet, a little wobbly but still able to defend himself due to his strict training. Everett sends Seth back down with clubbing forearms to the chest, and then hits a Kylo Kick, Seth writhing away and gasping for breath. Andrew sees victory in his reach and climbs the ropes, diving blind for a 630 senton... just to hit empty mat, grabbing at his waist as he struggles to breathe through the sharp, unwielding pain. Seth keeps an eye on him while fighting up to his feet once more, finally running forward and stomping down on the back of Andrew's neck, sending him crashing face first into the mat. The pin that follows is just to confirm the expected conclusion of the match, and Seth leans against the ropes, breathing in and out deeply as Andrew blinks up at the lights overhead.

Once he catches his breath a bit more and feels like he can walk without making a fool of himself, he pulls away from the ropes and walks over to Andrew, offering a hand. The man hesitates only a moment before gripping it, letting Seth help him pull himself up. He exhales and blinks as Seth claps him on the chest lightly. "Good match, man. Maybe we can do it again some time," he offers, the respect shown surprising and easing some of Andrew's displeasure at the loss.

"I'd like that," he agrees, before taking his leave to let Seth have his moment of victory with the crowd. He turns on the ramp and watches as Seth leans over, taking in the crowd's support, grinnng almost goofily at the response, and wonders what it'd be like to be at that level. _Someday,_ he thinks. _Someday that might be me..._


	128. chapter 128

Kurt Angle sighs. Taps his pencil against the list of wrestlers available for the week's show. "Damn," he mumbles. Since adding NXT and 205 Live to the list of those available to be used, they'd been averaging 40+ people a week, and soon Lucha Underground would be back, which would only add to the amount of names... He scrubs at his face. It takes a lot of thinking, a lot of plotting to make everything click with this amount of people. But so far, he thinks, they've been doing alright with that. He vows to hold true to that as he puts up the list of matches for the evening, ducking back into the office to watch it all unfold.

In triple threat action that starts the night off, Ember Moon walks out the victor against Dakota Kai and Kelly Klein when Dakota, still overwhelmed by her interactions with both Nikki Cross and Shayna Baszler, finds herself quickly taken down by the Eclipse after kicking Kelly clean out of the ring and turning to find Ember already flying off of the rope to grab her in the variation of the stunner. Scott Dawson ekes out a win in an Elimination Chamber following the eliminations of Cesaro, Tony Nese, and Suzuki by Cody and Hangman Page, just for Cody to turn and hit American Nightmare on Page, pinning him. He's distracted, not paying attention as he watches his fellow Bullet Club member get directed away from ringside that it's stupidly easy for Dawson to sneak in and roll him up, pinning him.

In the first scheduled Beat the Clock challenge of the night, Seth Rollins defeats Hanson in 5:38 after sidestepping him and making him splash hard into the corner before landing a series of kicks to lead into the Black Out, allowing him the win. Alex Shelley defeats Baron Corbin and, after a lengthy, hardhitting match, Dolph Ziggler only just barely pins Kazuchika Okada after Drew McIntyre strikes the IWGP champion with his own title belt while the referee was distracted by Ziggler's theatrics after getting clipped by a rainmaker, claiming that Okada had struck him in the throat. Neither Davey Boy Smith Jr or Matt Hardy succeed at beating Seth's time, both men awkwardly stopping and staring at each other darkly as the bell rings to alert them that the match is over.

Following this, DJ Z makes his way to the ring and limbers up after pulling off his light up chest piece, handing it off carefully to a tech on the outside. He's rolling his neck to relieve some tension when Charlotte Flair comes out to join him for the mixed tag match that's to come. Their opponents, Rusev and Mandy Rose, look awkward next to each other, Rusev obviously uncomfortable partnering with a blonde female who's _not_ his wife. Mandy seems unperturbed, almost ignores him, as she ducks behind the ropes to let him and Zema begin the match. Rusev gets the early advantage, his strength enough to overwhelm Zema's speed and determination for awhile, but Zema eventually ducks one of his massive forearms and lands a solid dropkick off of the top rope before diving into their corner and feeling Charlotte tag herself in, allowing him to slink out onto the apron and catch his breath.

Mandy has no chance against the Queen, the main parts of her offense batted aside like it's nothing as Charlotte begins lighting her up with chops, Mandy desperate to get away as her chest burns with each strike. She eventually lands a solid strike across Charlotte's face, clacking her recently surgically repaired teeth together, and dazes the woman just long enough to tag Rusev in. Zema is more ready for a fight this time, meeting Rusev by grabbing him and DDTing him into the mat before landing a few knees along his chest and back, running for the ropes to land a Corkscrew somersault splash, which grants him a two count and an even angrier than usual Rusev once he recovers enough to get to his feet a few moments later. Zema falters just enough to get wedged into the corner, Rusev's substantial weight crushing against his chest and leaving him no room to go as he's smashed in there. As he slumps, Rusev turns and mocks Charlotte, who rolls her eyes and looks away.

Rusev has just moved to their corner again, about to hit another splash before locking in the accolade and ensuring their win when Mandy reaches in and tags herself in. He immediately freezes and turns to stare at her, jaw dropping. "Hey! What are you doing?!" But she's already in, and Charlotte is circling her as Rusev and Zema return to their corners, Rusev unable to do anything but watch as Mandy is grabbed by Charlotte, beaten down with chops and knees before being twisted up into the Figure Eight. She taps almost immediately and Rusev buries his face in his hands, shaking his head slowly back and forth. They were _soooo_ close!

Despite Jinder's best attempts and even some cheap ploys by Sunil Singh on the outside, Will Ospreay still picks up a win against him. Gran Metalik and Yoshinobu Kanemaru follow suit with the other Beat the Clock challengers by failing to defeat Seth's time, both eyeing each other warily after the match has been called as well. Neither look thrilled but there's nothing to be done about it so they head reluctantly backstage.

In one of the biggest Team Work upsets, Lince Durado pulls together his high flying offense and speed to run circles around Rowe, avoiding the worst of his offense and eventually dropkicking his legs out from under him and going for the top rope where he feels most comfortable, landing a shooting star press that winds Rowe long enough for Lince to land a pin. Later, Bray Wyatt leaves the arena laughing in a twisted, demented kind of way after being the last man standing in the middle of the ring following a 15 man Battle Royal.

To wrap the evening up, the final Beat the Clock match pits Tommaso Ciampa against Lance Archer. Ciampa stands quietly in the middle of the ring and just absorbs the general hate from the crowd for his actions towards Johnny Gargano, a twisted, almost pained smirk on his face. Lance hits the ground running, moving to hit an early big boot but Ciampa ducks it and waves his finger mockingly at the man before landing a few solid strikes that rocks Archer, followed by a knee to the face that instantly sends him crashing to the mat, Tommaso adjusting his knee brace afterwards, his eyes cool and flashing as he rounds on the vulnerable man and begins punching and elbowing him with the intensity that one would expect if it was Gargano sprawled out before him. He only eases off when the referee begins threatening a DQ, casting a quick, careless glance at the clock before moving in to force Archer to his feet once more, suplexing him into a knee lift that sends him scrambling away, gripping his face before collapsing into the corner, struggling for each breath through the pain.

Ciampa laughs and rushes forward, landing another knee to Lance's face, dazing him further. Hitting a second running knee in the row, Ciampa then grips his head and hoists him up to his feet, tangling his fingers in his hair and glowering at him. "You have no chance at beating me," he snarls at him. "I am the best sports entertainer in the _world!"_ He then shifts their positions, hoisting Lance up to the second rope with him, dropping down into the Project Ciampa before pinning the man. His grin is this side of manic as he realizes he's defeated Seth Rollins' time at 4:19. Laughing, he leans against the top rope and listens to the boos and heckles from the crowd which has just become par for the course with his career. "You all can have your Monday Night Rollins," he declares to the world at large, staring deep into the camera as it focuses on him post-win. "I _am_ NXT!"

This said, he rolls out of the ring and walks to the back, standing at the top of the ramp and laughing in the face of the hate still being thrown his way before ducking behind the curtain and leaving it all behind like he had Gargano a year ago almost to the day.


	129. chapter 129

"Home sweet home!" Stephanie exclaims, tempted to spin in a circle in the middle of her office to celebrate her return to both Raw and Team Work. It had hurt to be sidelined from both, but she'd had no real choice, especially while enduring state of the art rehab for her badly mangled arm thanks to Ronda Rousey. She hums as she finalizes the matches for the evening and then tapes the alert near gorilla, a little shimmy in her step as she returns to her office to watch the show while going over paperwork from the last few weeks- Angle's messy, confusing scrawl only just counteracted by Drake Maverick's careful, diligent note-taking causing her to roll her eyes as she double checks the list of those with points.

The opening contest pits Seth Rollins against Jay White and, despite his best effort, the Kingslayer just can't overwhelm NJPW's United States Champion when Jay avoids repeated attempts at the Curb Stomp and eventually reverses a ripcord knee into a snap suplex into the turnbuckle, then dragging Seth over to swing him into the Blade Runner, pinning him to the crowd's shock and disappointment. Shocking wins continue when Kona Reeves defeats Tyler Bate when the younger man takes a little too long to adjust his mustache, leaving him vulnerable to the Hawaiian Drop. Jay Lethal outlasts and walks out the victor in a ten man elimination match, smirking at the cheering members of the crowd as he makes his way back up the ramp.

Sasha Banks faces off with Becky Lynch next and the two women easily fall back into their overly-familiar offensive and defensive styles, keeping the crowd watching closely as they counter and reverse a lot of each other's often used moves. Becky attempts a kick, not surprised when Sasha bats it away like it's nothing, but it is a shock when Becky feels a harsh impact on the back of her head and drops immediately, gritting her teeth when Sasha adjusts her into the Bank Statement, applying pressure on every possible joint until Becky has no choice but to tap, the pain just too much for her.

Ember Moon against Tessa Blanchard is uncharted territory and the women start off slow but quickly pick up speed, both aggressive and eager to claim another win to their names, when Tessa makes one mistake, slipping just a little too much and taking too long to keep her offense up, and gets caught, Ember hitting her with the Eclipse before she can recover fully, and pins her for the victory as the crowd reacts positively to this.

Mustafa Ali overwhelms Marty Scurll with his speed and stubbornness, eventually gaining the win thanks to his imploding 450 splash. Hangman Page takes out Big E, and Shane Taylor wins against Eddie Edwards.

Leading into the next match, the crowd's buzz grows. Dolph Ziggler vs Pentagon Jr. No matter what the Showoff attempts, there's no maintaining any amount of stamina against Pentagon's almost otherworldly strength. Once the match concludes after Pentagon reverses a Zigzag attempt into a half nelson driver, the whispers and murmurs continue, waiting to see if he'll go after Dolph's arm. He simply stands in the ring, however, staring down at his gasping opponent, before turning and scraping the sole of his boot off on the ring towards Dolph before exiting.

Despite the handicapped match Stephanie had thrown him in, Cody finds himself victorious against the odd partnership of Bobby Roodeand Flash Morgan Webster after forcing Roode from the ring, giving him just enough time to hit the Disaster Kick, pinning him and running out of dodge as soon as Bobby recovers enough to scramble into the ring to get his hands on him. Cody stands on the ramp and laughs at them as he makes his way backstage slowly. Lacey Evans finds herself the victor of the triple threat tha follows this match, somehow ending up with the advantage over two former womens' champions in Natalya and Alexa Bliss, Alexa purposely spending most of the match on the outside just to catch a solid punch to the face that downs her while Lacey repeats the hardhitting move to Natalya, pinning her. She chuckles and lifts a hand, absorbing everyone's insults and recrimations with a smug expression on her face.

Bray Wyatt makes quick work of Danny Burch, standing in the middle of the ring with his head cradled in the crook of his arm for a few moments, before flipping him into Sister Abigail's kiss, twisting him into a pin that he couldn't have gotten out of easily even if he'd been conscious enough for such things. Curtis Axel looks as shocked as everyone else when he actually holds his own against Pete Dunne, even landing the perflect plex and pinning him after ducking his forearm smash. Bo Dallas continues the B team's good luck when he competes against Goto and Drew McIntyre in a triple threat, laying on the outside after Drew takes him out, just for Goto to get completely decimated. Bo takes a chance, grabs the ropes before Drew can properly gain momentum by running against them, and sends him crashing out of the ring hard. Scrambling in quickly, Bo lands Rolling the Dice on the staggered Goto and pins him, quickly getting out of dodge before Drew could regroup and realize he'd lost. Bo's good mood fades when Drew's yells of anger echoes back towards him all the way from the ring as he freezes backstage. Grabbing a nearby Axel, he pushes him to the exit, eager to get away from that level of anger before something bad comes of it for either of them.

Once the ring is emptied for the main event, Kevin Owens makes his way down to the ring, disinterested by the crowd, by the referee, by his opponent's theme music. He slouches in the corner and watches boredly until DJ Z enters the ring, staring him down. Freshly crowned tag champion, only returned a few weeks ago from a couple career (and life) threatening injury. Kevin continues to be unimpressed, staring him down as he forms Z with his fingers to the crowd, but Zema seems unbothered by the look on his face as he walks back into his corner to wait for the bell to ring. As soon as that's done, Kevin pushes himself out of the corner and smirks at Zema. "How's your colon doing, huh!?"

Kicks. Punches. Quickly executed splash from the top rope. So much maddening frenzy that Kevin's not even sure which side Zema will come from next. He's struggling just to breathe hwen Zema dives, flips, and lands heavily on his midsection, winding him further. "Guess I pissed him off," he mumbles, finally getting ahold of Zema and slinging him backwards into the turnbuckle, finally bringing an end to his rampage. It's all Kevin from then on, smacking him roughly across the face before hoisting him up into a german suplex. While Zema's down from that, he climbs the ropes and splashes down upon him, causing Zema to struggle and spit against the ring, gripping his midsection. Kevin laughs at him, grabbing his shorn short hair and staring into his face. "Doesn't feel great, does it?" He tugs again, pulling Zema's head back, their eyes locking. Smacking his face down into the mat, Kevin sighs and scrapes his fingers through his own hair before turning and forcing Zema to his feet.

Lifting him up, Kevin takes it at a running start, pop-up powerbombing Zema down and twisting around into a pin. When the three count is hit, Kevin laughs and pulls away from Zema, clapping his fingers against the other man's face mockingly. "That's how real champions do it," he informs him with a dark kind of laugh before rolling out of the ring and leaving without bothering to acknowledge the crowd or referee as he heads up the ramp. Pausing at the very top, he turns for only a split second to teasingly courtsey before disappearing from sight, leaving Zema to suffer and struggle to his feet while the crowd shows him as much support as they can.


	130. Chapter 130

Stephanie hums to herself, organizing her papers and notes as she weighs the card for the evening. There are a few lesser people to deal with, but still a sizeable amount of matches and a fair number of points to be given out. She sighs and tacks the list of matches up before looking round at the wrestlers scattered around the hall, offering a somewhat insincere smile as she ducks back into her office to watch and tally points for all involved.

Lana's streak of good luck continues when she faces off against Ember Moon and, thanks to Aiden English getting the crowd behind Lana more and more each time he accompanies her to the ring, eakes out another win against her after dropping to avoid the eclipse and rolling the startled woman up into a pin. She laughs in delight as Aiden lifts her hand in victory before dancing up the ramp to find her husband. After interrupting Elias trying to convince the audience to once more cooperate before his latest attempt at a concert, Dezmond Xavier defeats him with the Final Flash.

Next up is a tag match, The Miz coming out and posing on the ramp, pointing ahead with a smirk on his face, EVIL joining him momentarily without any of the same pageantry as he walks determinedly to the ring. Trevor Lee is very focused as well, and although TJP's entrance is more flashy as he flips into the ring and then stands on the turnbuckle posts, staring back into the ring before waving off the crowd impatiently, he's all business too as soon as he flips back into the ring, staring impassively at Miz and EVIL as Trevor goes on about strategy. TJ shrugs him off too and peels his jacket off, tossing it at the people outside of the ring, before ducking behind the apron, allowing Trevor and Mike to start off. Both men are about even, EVIL clearly anxious to get in as TJ watches coolly. It all starts to break down when EVIL tags himself in, Trevor responding by scrambling over and tagging TJ in as quickly as he can.

TJ freezes, breathing through his nose, before slipping inside, casting a glare outside at his worthless partner, trying his best with EVIL. Used to competing against guys his own size or smaller, it's tricky for TJ to get back into the mindset to deal with a guy EVIL's height and weight, but he tries. Doesn't get too far, EVIL overpowering him at every turn, but he manages to survive the onslaught, at least, long enough to let out a sigh of relief when Mike tags in, clearly expecting an easy victory. TJ regroups, drop toeholds Mike into the turnbuckle, and then strikes him with a knee, wrenching his arm back and slamming it over his knees before twisting him in a swing type submission, gripping his arms while tangling their feet together. Mike writhes and struggles, but there's not much he can do to free himself from this mess. TJ has no choice but to drop it, however, when EVIL rushes in, Trevor not enough to keep him back. TJ's in something of a daze as he and Trevor work side by side briefly, TJ hitting a diving high knee on EVIL before Trevor lands a dropkick that sends EVIL up and over the ropes, landing hard outside. Afterwards, TJ drops down onto the mat, gasping for breath, but he recovers in time once more to grab Mike and keep him from escaping from their corner, TJ landing a solid detonation kick but before he can try for a pin, Trevor tags himself in and all TJ can do is watch in disgusted shock, struggling to catch his breath as Trevor gets the pin.

They argue back and forth, ignoring the referee and everyone else around, before Trevor pushes TJ once too many times and TJ snaps, elbowing him hard before landing another detonation kick, twisting him up in a stretch submission, grinding his elbow in Trevor's side until each breath is a struggle. He then drops him and snarls, kicking him aside before heading for the ramp to leave.

Naomi wins against Lacey Evans, and Dolph Ziggler teams with Shane Thorne to victory against Cien Almas and Matt Sydal. Moose takes Baron Corbin out, and Bo Dallas finds his winning ways dashed at his feet as he loses a handicapped match against Cheeseburger and Karl Anderson. Likewise, Nick Miller defeats Curtis Axel. Braun Strowman takes out Luke Gallows quickly, and Sumie Sakai succeeds against Natalya. Jushin Thunder Liger wins in a closely competitive matches with Naito, and Lars Sullivan continues his dominance in a tag match with Daniel Bryan against Roman Reigns and Caleb Konley, all but ignoring the fact he has a tag partner in the corner, dominating both men and eventually getting the pin on Caleb after crushing him against the mat, focus still on the NXT title match he thinks he's due.

The main event of the night is a fatal four way, Drew Gulak making his way to the ring, followed by Hideo Itami, SANADA and finally, Seth Rollins, the crowd yelling out BURN IT DOWN as he holds his arms out towards them, nodding enthusiastically before marching down to the ring determinedly. Gulak and Itami eye the heavyweights with grimaces, not wanting to fall into the same trap TJP had earlier, drowning against the much larger men, but it ends up not mattering as SANADA goes right for Seth as soon as the bell rings, the two of them exchanging blows and leaving Drew and Hideo to fight amongst themselves. Which lasts until SANADA knocks Seth into the two men and then it becomes a struggle just to keep their heads above water. Sliding away from one of Seth's knees, he grips Itami and suplexes him into a bridge, just to eat a kick to the ribs by Drew, who tries to lock in the Gu-Lock until Seth slips behind him and slams him backwards, getting to his feet just to knee Drew in the face.

SANADA grabs Seth, however, and pushes him to the ropes, dropkicking him on the rebound before tangling him up in the Skulls End. Seth struggles to breathe through the dragon sleeper, fingers twitching and twisting as he tries to get a grip, find a way to fight free- when Itami stomps down on Seth, breaking the hold and effectively wounding both men. Drew staggers back into things then, gripping Seth and trying to hit a backbreaker when Sanada superkicks him, just to course correct when he sees Hideo coming once more, leaning down enough to get a shoulder under him and sending his fellow Japanese competitor over the ropes straight down to the floor below. Seth tries to regroup and get back into things but this time Drew is successful with the backbreaker, and Seth grasps at his spine, rolling out of the ring to try to avoid the pain. SANADA has the advantage, yes, but Drew is tenancious and angry and eventually, SANADA loses a significant part of his confidence, watching as Drew fights back again and again, finally grasping him and suplexing him back into the turnbuckle, turning in time to watch him crumble to the mat below with a kind of sick sneer.

With Seth and Itami still struggilng on the outside, locking in the Gulock seems like overkill, but Drew does it anyway, tangling SANADA up until he's struggling just to breathe hard enough to verbalize the agony welling within him. When he concedes the match, it's a relief for the competitors and crowd alike. Drew laughs happily, raising his own arm as the referee is too busy checking on his fellow challengers. "I will win this cycle!" Drew declares, smirking at the boos that immediately greet his declaration. "You'll see!"

Heading up the stage, he laughs happily as everything begins to finally fall into place for him.


	131. chapter 131

Whispers greet him. No one seems thrilled to see him. Baron Corbin laughs as he walks purposely through the halls of the arena hosting Team Work this week, unlocking what was supposed to be Stephanie's office and entering it, shutting the door tightly behind him. He looks around at the nicely furnished room before dropping down on the couch and dialing Stephanie. "Alright, boss, I'm in your office, door shut like you requested. What do you want me to do now?"

He gets the card from her, unable to keep a grimace off of his face at some of the names she tosses at him, but he gets it all written down, smirking to himself as he pushes the door open to find a group of wrestlers hanging around outside, whispering and watching him with some disdain as he puts the list of matches up for their perusal before shutting himself up once more to watch the show and keep track of who to award points to. "She did this every week for how long without losing her mind?" he mumbles, squinting at the list of those with points so far. "Ugh, so ridiculous..."

He jumps when he hears his phone let out an echoing kind of squawk and grabs for it, growing pale as he realizes what he's done. "Oh, I - thought I hung this up, is there anything else you need?!" he asks, eyes wide as Stephanie squeeches at him.

The first contest of the night sees Hanson coming to the ring, looking unbothered by the prospects of the gauntlet match ahead. He stretches his wrists, rolls his neck on his shoulders, and smirks when the Belt Collector himself, Austin Aries, makes his way down to the ring. They stare at each other for a few moments, Austin not impressed as Hanson grabs at him as soon as the bell rings. Austin is quick, willing to fight dirty, but Hanson has both speed and strength on his side and takes Aries' legs out from under him, forcing the wind from his lungs with a splash from the top rope. Austin doesn't last much longer after that, trying and failing to get any significant kind of offense in, just to eat a spin kick that leaves him flattened on the mat long enough to be pinned and eliminated.

Kofi Kingston is second and, although he's fresh, he experiences much the same treatment as Aries, getting eliminated even quicker after Hanson snags him out of midair and powerbombs him down like he weighs nothing. EC3 is his third opponent and he does put up more of a fight, wearing Hanson down until he can barely keep his balance, but it just takes one mistake, EC3's ego getting the best of him, and Hanson gets the upperhand, hoisting him up to introduce him face-first to the ropes, EC3 flailing uselessly before hitting the mat. The moonsault that follows finishes him off and Hanson wipes some of the sweat from his face, grimacing as Bray Wyatt's music hits, the man laughing as he walks down to the ring, lantern swinging to and fro.

Hanson tries, he does, but he's already tired and Bray's eccentricities only worsening the longer he's alligned with Matt Hardy leaves him struggling, and it's almost a relief when his attempts at offense gets twisted into a Sister Abigail quickly, the pin that follows a blessing, allowing Hanson to get away from Bray and his frenzied, insane laughter. The match is not finished, however, as one last theme hits and Jack Gallagher comes out, looking slightly unsettled and lonely without Brian Kendrick by his side. He keeps his chin up, however, and stares Bray down as the bell rings to announce the final match in this gauntlet. It's clear Bray finds him to be something of a joke, not taking him seriously as he circles him, laughing and motioning with his hands. Jack tries to hold his temper but the instant Bray leans in and laughs right in his face, warm breath brushing over his face, it's on. Jack hits him with as much strength as he can and immediately the laughter stops, Bray staring at him almost incredulously before the anger kicks in. Jack moves as quickly as he can, avoiding as much as he can and landing what blows are possible as he dodges and dips around Bray's deceptively quick form.

Submissions are his best bet, so he relies on them heavily, targetting any extremity that seems a little vulnerable- Bray's ankles, his arms, even his throat sometimes when he can get close enough to lock in a guillotine choke. Sprinkles in dropkicks and headbutts, feels his energy wavering as Bray stumbles around him. Thinks it's good but doubts if he'll be able to hold on long enough- when he hears it. A repetitive pounding noise on the sound of the apron. They haven't wrestled heavyweights in quite a long time, used to going against guys their size or smaller, which always makes Team Work difficult to adjust to. He fights a smile as he looks up to find Brian Kendrick pounding on the side of the ring, supporting him with a kind of fire in his deep blue eyes. He exhales and turns his focus back onto his opponent, seeing for the first time that Bray is weakening too. He's stumbling and sweaty, clearly hurting from all of the submissions. Jack thinks he can do it now. Another headbutt, another dropkick, and Bray is _down._ He weighs what to do, glancing at Brian once more, before locking in the guillotine choke once more. Using his legs to add more pressure and terk to the move, he listens as Bray's rough breaths grows more raspy. Jack's heart sinks when Bray begins to laugh, but this quickly fades into a harsh, choking kind of wheeze before he collapses in Jack's arms, the referee checking hurriedly before calling the match in Jack's favor. Jack holds the move for a few seconds longer, in awe that he'd actually won, before releasing it in awe and rolling out to greet Brian.

Brian chuckles at him, raising his arm in victory, before shooing him up the ramp so his own match could begin without the referee getting annoyed with them. A triple threat against Xavier Woods and Ricochet and Brian looks unimpressed with both men as he wanders outside of the ring, in absolutely no hurry as they let off some steam against each other in a cycle of fast, risky moves, some in-ring but most performed on the ropes. He watches from the corner of his eye as both of them spin and flip and do other things that now makes him roll his eyes, more mature, more careful with his body. Especially after Itami's carelessness left him on the shelf as the _worst_ Christmas gift he'd ever received. He waits until Xavier is on top of the turnbuckle before dashing up and striking him with a solid forearm, sending him crashing into the ring. Ricochet tries to get him but Kendrick is just a bit faster in this exchange, diving into the ring and landing a solid headbutt that rocks Ricochet backwards, leaving him leaning against the ropes on the other side of the ring.

Turning his attention back to Xavier, Kendrick locks in bodyscissors, twisting him into the cobra clutch. He keeps an eye on Ricochet and, when the newcomer to NXT begins to recover enough to break this hold up, kicks Xavier away and sends him into Ricochet, tripping him up. Brian laughs to himself before forcing Ricochet back up and running up the ropes with him, slinging back to land Sliced Bread #3. Once Ricochet is down, barely twitching, Kendrick debates for only a moment before grabbing Xavier and tangling him up in a fisherman's hook, choking him out. It had looked so nice when Jack did it, he thinks it's perfect as he wins in much the same way, Xavier's hand barely having any strength behind it as he concedes the match in a weak attempt at a tap out. Brian smirks and stretches his arms out, circling around smugly before leaving the ring, watching his opponents struggle to recover.

Despite Su Yung's supernatural abilities and Madison Rayne's ring savvy, Shayna Baszler is just a little faster, a little tougher. Throws Su Yung from the ring and makes fast work of Madison after snagging her in an armbar that rivals the ones she'd injured Ember Moon with the most. Cedric Alexander teams with Drew McIntyre against Big E and Shinsuke Nakamura, in the middle of exchanging blows with Nakamura when Drew moves quickly around the ring and knocks a gyrating Big E out with a vicious headbutt that echoes through the arena, allowing Cedric to catch a distracted Shinsuke with the Lumbar Check, contorting his lanky form into painful angles before Cedric eases him into the pin.

Sasha Banks defeats Tenille Dashwood, and Eli Drake walks out the winner against Matt Hardy. In the second tag match of the evening. Ibushi finds himself partnering with Samoa Joe, who looks as unimpressed with the prospect as he feels, against Brian Cage and Rowe, who seem to hate teaming up as much as their opponents do. It falls apart quickly with neither team gelling well, Cage and Rowe seeming as likely to exchange blows with each other as they are with their opponents. Which is exactly what happens as Cage steals the tag when Rowe is gearing up to splash Ibushi from the top, and moves in for the kill after knocking Joe off of the apron with a brutal series of axehandles to his head and chest until he lets go Through this, Rowe is waiting impatiently from behind him and lifts him up, slamming him down with no problem before rolling out of the ring,. shaking his head in disgust. He turns halfway up and watches with a smirk as Ibushi recovers enough to land the Phoenix Splash, holding his breath until the referee hits the three count, Ibushi wisely getting out of the ring away from both Cage _and_ an angered Joe, bowing quickly to Rowe on his way past to get to the relative safety of the backstage. Rowe merely chuckles and glowers back towards the ring as Cage leans against the ropes and yells at him.

The main event pits Kevin Owens vs Kenny Omega. The two Canadians eye each other distrustingly before the bell rings and they fall into it, exchanging blows and random pieces of offense here and there until Kenny lands the first actually effective move, landing a hard knee strike straight to Owen's solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of him. He rebounds, however, and lariats Kenny down, before picking him up just to do it all over again. Kevin fails, however, when he tries to climb the rope to splash him, hitting the mat as Kenny rolls out of the way. It's Kenny's turn then to climb the ropes and sentons down onto him, Kevin writhing and yelling out in pain as Kenny struggles back up as well, palm striking Kevin in the chest and face before trying for the pin. Kevin kicks out at two, however, and struggles to his feet, getting into position just in time to land a boot to Kenny's face, staggering back against the ropes and landing another as Kenny tries to grab at him. Kenny stumbles, then hits the mat, sitting there dazed.

Kevin twists his fingers in Kenny's hair, forcing him back up to his feet, before getting a good hold on him and hoisting him up for the popup powerbomb... just to get knee'd in the face, so startled that he drops Kenny, who dashes up and lands a perfect Step Up Enzuigiri, sending Kevin down facefirst onto the mat. Kenny, breathless, hot, still a fair bit out of it himself, sits there gulping in oxygen, before stumbling back to his feet and trying to drag Kevin up as well to try the One Winged Angel... when Kevin stops playing possum and hoists Kenny up again, ignoring his flailing and struggles to slam him down into a Pop Up Powerbomb. He grips his side and chokes down a few more breaths before climbing up the turnbuckle. He lands the frogsplash that follows perfectly and then grabs Kenny's leg, holding him down with all that he can, listening as the referee counts to three.

Kevin laughs, weary and exhausted first, before lifting his arms in victory, barely blinking as the crowd boos him. "I'm the winner! And I'm gonna sweep this stupid challenge and take on any champion of my choosing! You'll see! And you'll see! And you!" He laughs breathlessly and points from one unhappy audience member to the next before rolling out of the ring and going backstage to properly celebrate this win.


	132. chapter 132

Paige stares at the set up before her, a small smile creeping over her face. Team Work is a new concept to her, but she's proud to be managing this week's episode of it. She considers her options, and the kinds of matches that have frequented TV this week, and finally decides to shift things around a bit. There had been a number of multi-woman matches, but only rare opportunity for them to show what they could do in singles competition, so she keeps this in mind as she books matches with the talent provided her. Once done, she gives herself only a moment to rethink things before getting up and walking purposely out to place the announcement. She beams at the few wrestlers scattered around before making her way back to the office and shutting the door behind her to watch how her vision comes to fruition.

The first match of the night pits Kairi Sane against Becky Lynch, the two women waiting with barely contained impatience until the bell rings, immediately lunging at each other in a power struggle. Becky, with frustration towards having to wait still for a chance to right her career, Money in the Bank so close that she can taste it, and Kairi needing an outlet for her frustrations towards Lacey Evans. They fight, hit, kick, tangle each other up in attempts for submissions. Kairi writhes away just in time to escape the dis-arm-er, and Becky kicks her away when she moves to lock in The Anchor. All it takes is one mistake, one slip, and Becky finds herself getting speared into the mat before hoisted back up and tossed away in a double leg slam, and all she can do is blink dazedly as Kairi climbs to the top and flies, elbowing her hard in the midsection before pinning her to win the match. Afterwards, Becky hisses and hits the mat, annoyed but enough of a good sport that when Kairi approaches, she holds a hand out to shake the victor's hand.

Pitted against four other teams in a tag team battle royal, Cedric Alexander scrapes together enough offense and stubbornness to win, kicking and punching any one on the other teams attempting to eliminate him- Bo Dallas, Jinder Mahal, Takahashi, it doesn't matter. His partner, EVIL, doesn't seem thrilled at losing a point for the cycle, but he allows Cedric to leave with little more than a glare for his troubles, so things could be much worse, Cedric figures.

Next up is a six man tag match, Elias and Curtis Axel eyeing their partner, Braun Strowman, uncomfortably, as Andrew Everett, Ortiz and Santana make their way to the ring. Despite the Impact wrestlers' issues, they gel well enough against their WWE opponents, and after taking Axel out, Ortiz and Santana keep Strowman busy long enough for Everett to fight Elias, eventually getting the upperhand and hitting a 630 moonsault on him, covering him for the three count and win.

Pit most people against Brian Cage and it'd be a foregone conclusion that he'd walk out the winner, even in handicapped situations- which is what he finds himself in this night, facing off against Roderick Strong and Lince Durado, but between Lince's almost reckless high flying offense and Roderick's brisk brutality, they hold their own and even, somehow, take the advantage as Lince helps him get Cage up for a Gibson Driver followed up by Lince landing a Lynxsault, Lince diving for the pin- Roderick assisting by pushing down on his shoulder, both of them quickly dashing up the ramp to relative safety once the bell rings and he's back up, roaring in anger at them.

Despite Naomi's best efforts, Nia Jax defeats her after grabbing her during a rear view attempt and slamming her down with all of the force she can muster. Likewise, Asuka walks out the victor against Kelly Klein after snagging her in the Asuka Lock and forcing her to tap, both women walking into Money in the Bank now successful this evening.

The main event of the night is a ten man tag match, Kofi Kingston, Naito, Mark Briscoe, DJZ, Flip Gordon against Karl Anderson, Bushi, Big E, Will Ospreay, Xavier Woods. Kofi looks thrown, staring across at his fellow New Day brothers, his teammates ignoring him as they prepare for the match ahead. When the bell rings, Anderson starts off against Naito, Naito quickly getting the upperhand and taking him down with a forearm. Anderson eventually manages to fight back and squirms free, kicking Naito hard in the face before getting to his feet and diving into his corner, tagging in Bushi. As the two Japanese competitors brawl, both teams watch anxiously, waiting for someone to get the upperhand- watching for any specific need to be saved from a pin or submission, or tag attempt. Naito's just hit the ropes, rebounding off to hit Bushi, when Flip Gordon tags himself in. _Everyone_ yells at him, Naito clearly incensed, but there's nothing to be done as he slides into the ring- just to immediately get pummeled to the mat by Bushi, who quickly loses interest in beating him down, tagging in Big E with an impatient slap to his chest, Xavier sputtering in allegience with his friend.

Big E shakes it off after a heated glare at Bushi, grabbing Flip and taking his frustrations out on him. Flip can't get any kind of offense in, stumbling after every blow, only standing long enough to be tossed aside. He staggers over to his corner and tags in Kofi, the two New Day members eyeing each other before Big E shakes his head and tags in Will Ospreay. They're fairly evenly matched, Ospreay responding in kind with every move Kofi makes, but ultimately his youth is his weakness, Kofi's ring savvy leaving him vulnerable to getting covered after he misses a senton from the top, until Bushi and Anderson both make the save, Xavier and Big E standing awkwardly a few feet into the ring. The other team clusters in and it becomes a bit of a mess as the ten face off, some already brawling, until the referee gets order, Kofi and Ospreay the only two left in the ring.

Ospreay dives, however, and tags Xavier in. Xavier swallows and eyes Kofi, who shrugs and motions at him as if to say _come_ on then. The three of them train together, practice wrestling moves together, so this isn't much different than that, honestly. Xavier still feels weird, however, as he fights Kofi, ducking a few of his blows and landing some in return. It's not until he tries more riskier offense, balancing gingerly off of the top rope, that Kofi catches him in midair with an SOS, immediately downing Xavier. He covers him, just for Big E to barrel in and break it up, pushing Kofi into his corner and dragging Xavier into theirs, getting back on the apron just long enough to tap Xavier on the shoulder to show he's now legal as Kofi, breathless and grimacing at Big E, tags in Mark Briscoe.

E and Mark _fight,_ a mix of Big E's strength and Mark's redneck kung fu leaving them both going back and forth on who has the advantage. Big E eventually gets the upperhand in a big way after slamming Mark into the mat, and then splashing him, just for Ospreay to tag himself in _again_ and finally hitting his 630 senton, pinning Mark while Big E stares on in disbelief. Even Kofi gets involved in the argument that follows, Xavier yelling at Ospreay for stealing Big E's win- and the point- while Big E glowers at him, eventually pushing through and grabbing at Ospreay, just for Will to kick him hard in the face and slip through the ropes, catching his footing on the outside as he runs for the barricade wall, which he dives over and runs through the crowd to escape, a smug smirk on his face once he's far enough away that he feels safe.

Big E shakes his head viciously as Xavier and Kofi murmur amongst themselves, their own earlier missteps forgotten in the face of the injustice to their friend.


	133. chapter 133

Stephanie has business overseas to handle this week, so after some debating with herself, she leaves Team Work in Angle's hands reluctantly. He shifts, feeling her displeasure from having to make this decision, and quickly gets to work. Due to the theme of the weekend, he throws in a special main event, smirking down at the six man Money in the Bank that will wrap the night up. "Now as long as everything goes ok," he mumbles, placing the card by gorilla and wandering the halls a few moments before ducking back into the office to watch the show, grimacing as he remembers once he hadn't watched very closely for a couple minutes and Stephanie lectured him for a good half an hour about the importance of her points system.

So he makes sure to keep a close eye on things as the first match begins, a 20 man elimination match. The ring quickly fills up with No Way Jose, Ricochet, Adam Page, Rusev, Dolph Ziggler, Shane Taylor, Trevor Lee, Aleister Black, Mustafa Ali, Caleb Konley, Matt Sydal, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Lince Durado, Roman Reigns, Marty Scurll, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Kalisto and El Hijo Del Fantasma. It's fast moving, Marty Scurll left gaping on the outside as he's eliminated quickly by an impatient Braun Strowman, just for Shane Taylor to join him a few seconds later, Drew McIntyre glowering down at them before he wades back in to look for someone else to toss out. Braun clips Roman and sends him collapsing into the ropes before Rusev clips him under the jaw, sending him up and over to join the others in the early elimination club.

Lucha House Party members meet the same fate at virtually the same time as Drew tosses Lince out of the ring and Dolph superkicks Kalisto before slinging him over, Adam Page the next to go after Rusev snaps his head back with another solid boot and hoists him over the top rope like he weighs nothing. Ricochet has just eliminated Matt Sydal, staring down at him, when he feels a presence behind him and turns to find Aleister staring him down, lips twisted in displeasure before he lunges forward and rains blows upon Ricochet's unprepared body. Black Mass is easy from there, and pushing him out of the ring even easier. Braun has just sent Rusev unceremoniously out of the ring to the crowd's displeasure when Trevor Lee is eliminated next, then Aleister watching those outside slowly making their way to their feet to head backstage before turning back around- just to be met with Braun's solid weight crushing his chest as he splashes him into the ropes, then lifts him up and throws him over to join Ricochet. He hits the mat and grits his teeth before allowing his body to relax, accepting the bitter taste of loss as he stares up into the ring before getting to his feet and making his way backstage.

AJ has just rocked Caleb Konley with a forearm, whipping him out of the ring, when Daniel sneaks up from behind and hits him with a dropkick square between the shoulders, sending him tumbling over the top rope as well. Their eyes lock and he gapes as Daniel shrugs apologetically, getting back into the fray of things. Braun and Daniel work together briefly against Drew and Dolph, eliminating first one and then the other before exchanging wary glances, There are only a few guys left, making it easier to keep track of those around, but also leaves abrupt eliminations easier to happen, which comes to fruition when No Way Jose rushes Daniel, who dips down, gets a shoulder under Jose and tosses him over the ropes like it's nothing. Daniel blinks, realizing that it's down to the final four- he, Braun, Mustafa Ali and Fantasma. The speed of the three remaining works just right against Braun as he struggles to get ahold of eithe rof the three smaller men around him. He's left off balanced when Daniel kicks him square in the shoulder, Ali and Fantasma working together to hold the ropes down and send the off-balanced monster clean out of the ring.

"Ha!" Daniel exclaims, doing the yes chant right there- until Fantasma grips a handful of his shirt and sends him out, eliminates him. He gapes, in disbelief, as Ali and Fantasma start to face off, mixing their speed with brutal offense, desperate to be the last man in the ring. Fantasma holds his own for awhile but it ultimately just takes one wrong move, which he makes a few minutes into it, Ali taking advantage with a solid dropkick that rocks Fantasma until Ali can rush over and clothesline him onto the apron, dropkicking him roughly to get him off, leaving Ali alone in the ring, lifting his arm in joyful success.

Charlotte and Taya Valkyri find themselves partnering against Asuka and Shayna Bazsler. Despite Shayna's recent win, Asuka is clearly still thrown by James Ellsworth's return, and she nor Shayna like each other much, so it's an easy enough win for Charlotte after locking in the figure eight, Taya keeping both Shayna and referee busy long enough for the match to fall into place easiliy enough. Cody walks out the victor in a fatal fourway against a bruised and battered Tommaso Ciampa, Moose and Matt Jackson.

Bullet Club continues to be fine as NIck Jackson defeats Kyle O'Reilly, and the team of Becky Lynch, Bianca Bel Air and Natalya gel together well enough for Becky to get the winning pin against Ruby Riott, Lana and Tess Blanchard. Naomi finds herself successful against new Raw woman's champion Alexa Bliss, laughing as she dances around the ring afterwards, ignoring the dull look of shock on the blonde's face.

After a wild rush of tags, and brutal offense and risky high offense by all ten men in the match that follows the female competitors, Gran Metalik gains the win for his team, Hanson, Pete Dunne, Pentagon Dark and Curtis Axel bustling around, watching closely in case the other team of Rowe, Kenny King, Akira Tozawa, EC3 and Harper may try anything. Outside of some goodnatured teasing between Hanson and Rowe, nothing happens. The other four quietly leave, disgruntled and frustrated at yet another loss.

Main event time brings the six man Money in the Bank and Seth Rollins finds himself surrounded by ladders, Bo Dallas, Roderick Strong, Kazuchika Okada, Bobby Lashley and Erick Rowan comprising the other six. His knee hurts, slows him down a bit, and Okada is clearly not with it, still trying to come to terms with his title loss, something Seth can sympathize with on some level- he'd been stripped of the heavyweight title and every move he makes is overcome by fear of losing the Intercontinental title. He doesn't take it easy on him, however, and Okada returns the favor as they brawl around the other four, on a whole different level as they exchange punches, kicks, knees, elbows, anything to try to get the upperhand. Slingblade, DDT, suplex after suplex after suplex, they're both throwing everything at each other that they can, only pausing to interject when ladders come into play, one of the others trying to win.

Eventually they move away from each other, Okada fighting Lashley while Seth is kept busy by Rowan, but they wonder what a one-on-one match would be like, just for Seth to turn and realize Bo and Strong are exchanging blows uncomfortably close to the top of the ladder settled in the middle of the ring. "Shit!" he exclaims, quickly catching Rowan with a knee to the face before scrambling up. Okada has Strong, Seth has Bo, and together, they hoist the men up and slam them down the few feet from the top of the ladder to the mat below. It hurts, stinging pain up his back, but he still has a chance. Rights a ladder, starts to painstakingly crawl it... until Okada catches him and they're back to brawling, first on the ladder, then on the mat, Seth trying and failing to land his knee as Okada ducks, then hoists him up and tombstoning him, not once but twice.

He lays in the corner, in a daze, as the match moves on around him. He can only watch as another ladder is placed, Okada climbing it slowly. Everyone else is down, but then... no, wait, someone's stirred, climbing up the other side of the ladder. He wants to warn Okada, but figures he'd have to be blind not to see it. Sure enough, Okada works at kicking Bo off but Bo's hanging on like a monkey, pushing and kicking at Okada's prone form in an attempt to get him to let go of the ladder, clear up the path for Bo to climb himself. Scraping his boot against Okada's face, down his jaw to his chest, Seth holds his breath, tries to get him limbs to work in time, but there's nothing he can do but watch as Bo succeeds in strong arming Finf off of the ropes, slowly climbing the rest of the way up and getting ahold of the briefcase. Everyone else is down in or outside of the ring, so there's nothing to be done for it but lay and watch, disgust and envy pulsing in his veins as Bo raises his arms and laughs ecstatically.


	134. chapter 134

Paige stretches and smiles, still enjoying the turn her career's taken. Not perfect, no, but she can accept it for what it is. Better than her continuing to fall further into sadness and desperation- at least this way she can still be involved in some fashion, helping people she likes and making sure things don't go too far off of the rails otherwise. She has control of Team Work's booking again this week and bites her lip as she analyzes the list before her, putting together matches the best way she possibly can.

After she puts the card out and takes her seat to keep track of winners, the show begins shortly with Madison Rayne facing off against Sarah Logan. Sarah has learned quickly, but Madison's speed and ability overwhelms her and, after a relatively short back and forth, Madison eakes out a win after landing a diving spear that stops any possible momentum Sarah could've gained.

Adam Page finds himself reluctantly partnering with Santana against Pentagon Dark and Nick Jackson, stubbornly turning his back when Santana wants to tag him in against Nick. Santana spits angrily but still keeps Nick from tagging Pentagon in, using every ounce of strength he has to finish this as quickly as possible, the crowd booing as Nick has no chance to start a solo superkick party before getting hit with a cannonball, then hoisted up for a suplex. As the ref counts the cover, Santana bridges up and digs into Nick's tights, using it to keep his shoulders down for just the necessary few seconds needed. Page is clearly not happy but all Santana can do is laugh as he rolls out of the ring and dashes up the ramp to safety, successful against the fractured remains of the Bullet Club.

Son of Havoc finds himself in the untenable position of being in a gauntlet match for the night, his first opponent being Matt Hardy. He eyes the tag team specialist as the bell rings, the two immediately settling in for a fight. He barely remembers defeating one of the men that he watched revitalize the tag team setting when he was younger, just avoiding a twist of fate and twisting him into a snap suplex before going to the top, hitting a 450 splash that leaves Matt completely vulnerable. His luck dries up with his second opponent, Rowan, and all he can do is stare up at the ceiling after a sharp sequence of moves that leaves him grasping at thin air, feeling his body contorted into a pin, only barely able to hear the sharp ech of the bell ringing to announce the end of this portion of the match.

Kevin Owens, still battered from his last few weeks, tries to get the upperhand but, even after succeeding in kicking him until he slumps into the corner and cannonballing into him, he meets much the same fate as Havoc, eventually finding himself pinned under Rowan's weight as well. Dolph Ziggler is the final man in the match and he circles Rowan, waiting for an opportunity, a chance. When it comes, he takes it, using all of his strength to spike Rowan, then land a superkick when he gets up, just to finish off the trifecta with a ZigZag that leaves Rowan down long enough for a pin.

The Mack defeats Takahashi, and after a short match, the team of Hanson and HIdeo Itami completely fall apart even as Mojo Rawley and Matt Jackson surprisingly work well together, Matt gaining the pin on Hideo after he and Mojo work together to keep both men either occupied or down long enough for the three. In a mess of a six man that pits Roman Reigns, Scott Steiner and Bobby Lashley against Fantasma, Baron Corbin and El Dragon Azteca Jr, Fantasma and Azteca Jr mesh together well, Corbin merely sitting back and smirking as Roman and Lashley argue and dismiss each other's ideas, Steiner doing very little but yelling at both of them whenever his time in the match gets disrupted by their petty bickering.

It all goes sideways, much like Monday itself, when Roman forces the tag and slams his way into the ring, stopping short before Fantasma and turning sharply when Lashley yells at him. "Excuse you, Bob," he snaps back, turning to resume his argument with his partners, when- Corbin boots him hard in the face before dragging him over to their corner so Azteca can land a Tornado DDT, which Fantasma wraps up with a Samoan Driver. Both Steiner and Lashley are arguing amongst themselves and by the time they realize what's happening, it's too late- Fantasma has pinned and defeated Roman thanks to a combination of their offense, and the other team's disinterest in helping.

Following this, Becky Lynch and Liv Morgan both are forced to face Bianca Bel Air's innovative strength and determination, each attempt of true offense met by even stronger defense by her. She's confident, she's strong, and she knows it- her hair whips across Liv's back and when Becky tries to get between them, she ends up with a lash across her shoulders as well. Liv rolls out, leaving Becky to eat more punishment, BIanca's strikes no joke, and leaving her floundering until Bianca snags her and lands a solid Argentine facebuster, rolling her over into a pin as Liv clings to the apron and watches, unable- or unwilling- to stop the proceedings.

Multi-man matches continue to rule the evening as Ortiz eats the loss in a six man match with Rusev and Bray Wyatt against Rowe, Drew Gulak, and Killshot. Between the strength, technical know-how and pure risk taking highflying, there's nothing really they can do no matter what they try, and Ortiz isn't that too surprised to find himself sprawled out on the mat, held down by Rowe's considerable strength after a splash from the top rope. It's pretty much a relief when the bell rings to herald his loss and the match is complete.

In the main event that evening, Jinder Mahal finds himself partnering up with Jay Lethal against Harper and Bobby Roode. None of the four men look thrilled, especially at who their partners are, but they accept it however reluctantly because of the promised point to the victor. So they try, they brawl, they lock up, they feel each other out. Jinder is aggressive, staggering Harper until he lands a solid punch that rocks Jinder and gives Lethal the chance to tag in against Roode. Harper forces another tag after a few minutes and faces off with Jinder, his eyes fixed as he snarls at the man. Jinder seems unimpressed, all but sneering back, as Sunil hits the side of the apron in support of the modern day Maharaja. This lasts until Harper storms over and comes very close to stomping his fingers, Sunil leaping back in fear.

Jinder takes advantage of the momentary distraction and grabs Harper, trying to sneak a Kallas in there- just to get clotheslined down to the mat for his troubles. Harper kicks and hits his prone form, picking away at him until he can barely breathe, much less move to safety. Jay struggles for a few moments before barging in and kicking Harper away, grabbing Jinder and dragging him over to his corner. He tags in and stares across at Harper, unsurprised when Roode tags himself in and the two of them begin to go at it properly- neither are in it to cheat, or sneak their way to victory, they just want the best match they can provide- for themselves, for the crowd, for the cycle.

Jay has just pushed Roode away from him to avoid a glorious DDT when Harper tags in and sideswipes him with an impatient boot to the side of the face that rocks Lethal, leaves him barely with it. Before he can even come close to having his wits back about him, Harper downs him with a bonerattling discus clothesline, pinning him as he glares resolutely towards Jinder. Afterwards, he barely looks twice at Roode before making his way out of the ring and up the ramp, fingers itching for where his hammer usually rests. Jinder alternates between seething over the lost point and relief that it's all over as Sunil hovers around him, waiting and watching quietly for whatever Jinder may decide to do next. When it's simply to go backstage and prepare to leave, he breathes a little easier, relaxing into the reprieve he's at least receiving for this one particular night.


	135. chapter 135

****

After a successful 205 Live, Drake Maverick finds himself roaming the halls of Team Work once more. He hums, arms crossed behind his back, and smiles at a few of the workers as he walks past them, nodding respectfully. He finds the office set aside for the general manager of the week and ducks inside, collecting the papers listing everyone available for the night. As soon as he properly compiles them and gets a head count, his face falls. "Oh bullocks!" Fifty two names stare back at him, taunting him.

He exhales and checks the clock, realizing that the show is starting in less than two hours and he has to book all of these names into matches for the cycle points. "BULLOCKS," he repeats for emphasis before squaring his shoulders and getting to work.

It cuts it very close but he makes it just in the nick of time with a list of sufficent matches, eager to see how it plays out as he slumps down on the leather couch, closing his eyes and trying to ease his stressed out mind as the show begins.

The first match of the night is an elimination tag match, the four teams comprised of Lio Rush and Chris Jericho, Austin Aries and Kenny King, Scott Dawson and Nick Jackson, and Matt Taven and Jay Lethal taking up different corners of the ring as Aries and Lethal start the match off. The two top singles ROH champions circle each other, neither overly impressed with the other. Lethal hits with a kick early, Aries downed by the force behind it. He raises his eyebrows at Lethal, forcing himself upright and hitting Jay once, twice, three times with chops that leave him careening backwards, the crowd reacting to each blow. They continue to exchange offense growing in strength and intensity before Aries downs Jay with a simple but effective pair of knees to his chest, trying to lock in the Last Chancery when Jay breaks free and grabs him before he can manage to climb the ropes for something drastic, shifting and rushing the ropes in time to snag Aries and strike hard with the Lethal Injection- but Aries kicks out to the general shock of all watching. Lethal is so startled that it leaves him vulnerable and he then has no recourse as he's grabbed and placed back in Last Chancery, Aries pulling back with all of his strength as Jay struggles for freedom, eventually having no choice but to tap as his neck and knees protest the position, the pain too much to endure.

From his corner, Matt Taven curses and jumps off of the apron before leaving without a look back, not caring as Lio Rush gets in the ring without a word to his tag partner. Jericho yells at him, red in the face for this disrespect, and then Dawson enters. Lio's smug smirk fades a little as he looks at the promising tag wrestler, seeing only seriousness and determination on his face. Lio does try, but no matter what moves he pieces together, there's nothing to be done- Dawson makes quick work of him, pinning him off of a spinebuster that nearly shakes the entire ring, and Jericho is so angry that he follows Taven's lead, throwing his hands up in disgust as they're eliminated from the match as well.

Ignoring Aries and his intention to get back inot the match, Kenny King puts himself in against Dawson and smirks, sending him into the ropes, expecting to swipe him up and over into a slam- just for Nick Jackson to tag himself in.

Aries has clearly lost all interest in the match now that Kenny's disrespected him, leaning against the ropes with his legs crossed, a pissy look on his face through the rest of the contest. Kenny and Nick run circles around each other literally, neither quite able to hit significant offense- Nick lands a superkick that rocks Kenny backwards, and Kenny hits a suplex that leaves Nick gasping for breath, but they quickly reset, no pin attempts even feasible as they fall back into this dance.

After a failed superkick, Kenny lands a boot straight to Nick's face and then hoists him up for a slam, bridging up into a pin. Aries yawns and watches as Dawson inches into the ring- just for Nick to kick out. He's just went back behind the ropes when Kenny sweeps the legs out from under Nick, going to the top and diving down on top of him, knocking the breath out of him. Dawson does try to intercede here but Aries, bored of this and just wanting it to end, meets him halfway and throws him back out of the ring, climbing the turnbuckle on the opposing side of hte ring and sprawling out, watching, unimpressed, as Kenny gets the three count.

When Kenny tries to thank him, Aries rolls his eyes and leaves without a look back, Kenny scoffing in anger before returning to celebrating his win.

The second match is an eight woman match, Sarah Logan getting the win for her team against Tenille Dashwood, Becky Lynch, Jenny Rose and Liv Morgan after hitting a split-legged moonsault on Jenny. The two members of the Riott Club exchange glances at soon as it's over, but Liv simply grins and runs into Sarah's arms. "Congratulations!" she squeals, sticking her bright purple tongue out at her own team, the crowd, everyone in range of her immature gaze.

Adam Cole eaks out a win against Jimmy Uso, and Braun Strowman gets a quick victory against Jey Uso, to the surprise of very few. In six man action, Elgin, Matt Jackson and Punishment Martinez get the win against Mark Briscoe, Drew Gulak and Roderick Strong.

Kevin Owens, still stained a little blue and looking more than somewhat miserable, finds himself in a match against both Matt Sydal and Gursinder Singh. He's obviously in pain, doing his best to avoid both men's highflying ridiculousness, when Sydal's attempt at a 450 splash goes wrong and he hits the mat hard, Singh evading at the last moment. Owens takes advantage, rolling into the ring and scooping Singh up just to popup powerbomb him roughly into the mat, pinning him. "Ahhh!" he yells, still hurting, still more than a little humiliated, but at least with this win, one more point, to his name.

Next, Vinnie Marseglia finds himself tag teaming with Takahashi against Kona Reeves and Rusev, none of the four looking overly thrilled with the circumstances they find themselves in. But in the end, Takahashi and Vinnie hold it together long enough, unlike Rusev who can't go five minutes without snapping at Kona, who's started annoying him before they were even standing side by side in the ring. It leads to an easy enough victory for Vinnie, laughing as he looks up to find Rusev standing stubbornly with his back turned on Kona as he's pinned. Afterwards, when the match is finished, Kona rolls out and stands, glaring at Rusev. "You didn't even TRY!" he screams, poking him hard in the chest. "We lost because of YOU! Makes sense you'd get a real tag partner and CHOKE because you don't know wat to do with someone who actually WINS!"

Rusev turns hard and pushes him down, sending him roughly to the mat, jaw gaping open in disbelief at this. "If Aiden English had been my partner, we would have easily won this but instead, I got stuck with YOU! Of course we lost!"

Kona looks shocked and disgusted as Rusev glowers down at him before dusting off his chest and walking off angrily.

Kyle O'Reilly defeats Curtis Axel, and Tozawa somehow inches out a win in a triple threat match against Akam and Mil Muertes, wisely waiting outside after being thrown callously from the ring as they brawl back and forth over his head, then taking advantage of his first opportunity, lunging in as soon as they're both down after a solid forearm exchange that had knocked both of them a little loopy, and first trying to pin Akam, then diving over to pin Muertes when that fails. Mil kicks out too so Tozawa rushes up the ropes, diving down with all of his body weight onto Muertes, trying the pin again. Akam has just stirred when the bell rings, Tozawa finding himself successful against both men so much larger than he is. "Holy crap," he mumbles, quickly rolling out of the ring and running to safety before Muertes and Akam can recover enough to get to their feet and go after him.

The next match sees Dalton Castle walking gingerly to the ring, obviously still hurting, but pleased with his successes- he had defended his title at Best in the World, and now he's here, with his Boys, some of the weight on his shoulders easing as he looks at the crowd cheering, so pleased to see him and his Boys. His happiness fades away when his opponent's music hits and he directs the Boys out of the ring, quietly urging them to stay safe and out of the way as Razer walks up to the ring, face impassive and eyes sharp.

There's no hope, honestly. Dalton's too battered from various injuries over the last few months, and just plain exhausted from wrestling Cody and Marty the other night. So it's not that surprising when Razer overwhelms him early and seems to just be amusing himself by throwing Dalton around, batting him around like a cat might with a toy bird. He can't get his feet under him, much less manage anything else to defend himself or fight back. Defeat is almost a relief as his thigh, his back and every other body part screams out in agony. He shhakes his head when the Boys try to move to him, motioning them to wait. They understand and move back even further when Razer leaves the ring, glowering over at them before making his way slowly up the ramp. Only once they're sure he's gone and not coming back, the Boys scramble into the ring and rest their hands on Dalton's back, checking on him with worry and sympathy on their young, expressive faces.

XOLishus from Lucha Underground makes his debut against Jeff Hardy, whose injuries also work against him, leaving him unable to piece together any significant kind of offense against the other man, messing up on one Twist of Fate and finding himself barely able to stand or breathe or anything else, an easy victory for the newcomer.

Injuries becoming more frequent again, Ruby Riott finds herself limping to the ring, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan accompanying her as far as they're allowed, worry on their faces as they ease her up onto the apron. "I'll be ok, girls," she promises them. They struggle to smile at her, wanting to be positive and encouraging, but it's clearly difficult for them. As they leave, Ruby gets safely into the ring and leans against the turnbuckles, waiting for her opponents. As Natalya and Candice Le Rae make their way to the ring, she forces her way back up to her feet, standing as straight as she could on her weak knee. She's determined to see the match through, not even leaving the ring as Natalya and Candice focus on each other, constantly re-injecting herself at every opportunity. Natalya has just locked in the sharpshooter when Ruby slams both of her fists down upon Natalya's back, breaking up the submission. Candice responds by kicking her leg out from under her and Ruby yells out, gripping her knee as she struggles upright once more, barely able to put weight on her leg now. This only makes her angry, however, and she droptoeholds Natalya into Candice, sending them both down and slowly, painfully, climbing the top rope. She drops down on both of them in a hurricarana, and then stretches out, desperate and in pure agony. Getting the pin is a shock, she just lays there for a few moments longer before realizing that no one's kicked out, that she'd actually won. She gasps and rolls off, hitting the mat with her fists and rolling out of the ring into Sarah and Liv's waiting arms as they cheer and hug her tightly, taking care to not jostle her leg too much. "Come on," Sarah says, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and helping her to the back, pausing on top of the ramp to take in the moment as Natalya and Candice both struggle to come to grips with the fact that they'd lost to an injured opponent who could barely stand.

The main event is another triple threat, TJP looking absolutely disinterested as he peers at the crowd, leaning against the turnbuckle as he waits for his opponents. Josh Woods' entrance leaves him all but yawning, but his eyes sharpen when Rich Swann comes to the ring. They haven't seen each other since Rich sweeped TJP in a 2 out of 3 match, and TJ sneers at him, taking in his new hair. "Did you lose a fight with a weed whacker?" he asks, laughing callously when Rich glowers at him.

Josh is forgotten quickly, Swann and TJ working toegther just long enough to get rid of him, before quickly settling in to fight each other. It's brutal, the kind of fight only former best friends could accomplish. They know each other too well, exchanging strikes, reversing well known moves, leaving each other struggling just to find a way to win.

Josh returns at some point, lands a splash on Rich and tries to pin him, but TJ recovers, grabs him by the back of the head and tosses him clean out of the ring before falling back on Swann, punching him with all of his strength. Rich struggles and fails to get the upperhand, and TJ twists him quickly into submission hold, after submission hold, after submission hold, running the gamut of all of the moves he knows, causing Swann the most pain in as short a period of time as he can.

After hitting the ropes to break the twisted agony that he has his arm in, Swann struggles to get back to his feet, fighting to land any sort of strike, but he fails again and again, TJ now with the upperhand. He's so close to victory that he can taste the win, striking Swann with the detonation kick and only pausing for a second before rolling over and pinning him.

He laughs, kicking him away and climbing the ropes, posing in victory as the crowd boos him. It doesn't effect him, as he waves them off, his confidence still high as he hops off of the ropes and makes his way backstage, smug look on his face only growing when the crowd boos him even harder.


	136. chapter 136

Paige hums to herself, rocking back and forth on her heels as she watches the general reaction to the night's card. "Have a good show, guys," she calls out to the milling wrestlers in the hallway before ducking back into the office to wait for things to begin. She sighs and kicks her heels up on the table, humming under her breath as she runs through a few things on her phone, answering texts and skimming emails.

The first match of the night sees Razer defeating Tanahashi, overpowering him at every turn with strength and batting away every serious attempt of offense until finally he slams him down brutally and pins him. Nia Jax, Dakota Kai and Becky Lynch finds themselves teaming up against Taya Valkyrie, Katarina and Ember Moon. Ember doesn't look thrilled at all and Taya and Katarina look bored as she starts the match off against Becky. They keep one upping each other in speed and offense, Ember failing at highrisk offense and eating a kick to the face, skidding against the mat. She has no choice but to tag in, Katarina finding herself in the ring against Dakota. It doesn't last long before Katarina tags in Taya, quickly slinging Dakota over her shoulder and trying to pin her, getting her feet on the ropes to hold her down, just for Nia and Becky to rush in and break things up, Katarina diving in to deal with them while Ember hesitates. Nia hoists Taya up and slams her backwards, rolling out of the ring as Dakota leans in the corner, preparing, and then kicking her hard and dropping onto her in a pin, winning the match.

Following this, Bully Ray comes to the ring, surly and angry, the expression on his face only growing darker as Velveteen Dream saunters to the ring, slowly easing his sunglasses off of his face and examining the supportive crowd before turning his confident, attractive face towards Bully. Smirking, he eases out of the stripped shirt that he has on and enters the ring, writhing over the canvas while the referee keeps Bully away. It's brutal- Dream and he exchange some truly rough blows, Bully putting some real anger and frustration behind his blows as Dream struggles to put some distance between them. He finally gets the upperhand after a blow that rocks Bully, hitting the ropes to get some momentum and grabbing him, planting him with a Death Valley Driver. Bully is down long enough for Dream to go to the top but as he flies off for the Purple Rainmaker, Bully rolls away and Dream hits hard, scrambling away and grabbing at his arm as pain throbs up from shoulder to fingertip, reawakening the pain he'd caused himself against Ricochet.

He's struggling back to his feet when Bully grabs him and slings him around, slamming him down in a bone rattling Bully Bomb, Dream staring up at the lights as the ref counts to two before kicking out. Bully is far from done, however, and grabs him by his hair, digging his fingers sharply into his scalp, even tugging a few strands out, before dragging Dream back enough to make room for the Bully Cutter- just to miss, Dream pushing him away and planting a sharp fist to his mouth, gasping for breath as he tries to move into position for more offense. It doesn't matter, however, only providing Dream with a temporary reprieve before Bully swings out and impacts with the side of his head. Still rocked, he's grabbed again and Bully all but DDTs him down on his knee, pulling Dream to his feet and finally suceeding at hitting the cutter. There's nothing for Dream to do then, his debut on Team Work ends here, his loss weighing over him as he rolls off of the mat to the floor, Bully yelling and taunting the crowd before he decides he's waisted enough time and rolls out of the ring, walking dismissively over Dream as he heads backstage.

The next match is a handicap match, pitting Kane against Noam Dar and Mustafa Ali. Despite their best attempt, and Ali's most impactful highflying moves, Kane always stays one step ahead of them and hits Ali with a solid punch to the face when he comes flying at him. Noam tries to get anything together once he's alone but Kane snags him by the throat and chokeslams him with all of his power, pinning him.

Fenix gets the win in the following six man match pitting him, Cody and Daniel Bryan against Jake Strong, Nick Miller and Akam after taking Jake down with a 630 moonsault. Stella Grey and Madison Rayne succeed against Allie and Sumie Sakai, Jushin Thunder Liger defeats Curtis Axel, and Shane Thorn finds himself the victor against Brian Cage with some help from Rey Mysterio in a tag match, the two of them somehow managing to work together to keep both Cage and Fallah Bahh busy long enough for them to walk out the victors in this tag match.

The frightening duo of Matanza and Braun Strowman make quick work of King Cuerno in the second handicapped match of the night, and Akira Tozawa finds himself facing off with AJ Styles. Despite AJ's confidence, Tozawa looks secure in his own ability and the two men battle back and forth until AJ snags him and rushes to hit a Styles Clash, but Tozawa kicks out when he attempts a pin. Before AJ can piece together another bit of winnable offense, Akira meets him halfway and hits a solid bicycle kick that downs AJ. He struggles and fights back to his feet, trying to move back to landing a phenomenal forearm, just for Tozawa to grab him and German Suplex him, bridging up into a pin. AJ kicks out but Tozawa goes to the top and dives down, smashing AJ back down before pinning him, relieved to hit the three count as he rolls off and lifts his arms in victory, grinning out at the crowd.

Johnny Mundo makes his way to the ring, all confidence and swagger at the fog, the slo-mo, all of his favorite things about his entrance as he stares out over the turnbuckle at the crowd. Despite his attempts to get Paige to see the light, fix things so one of Team Work's highest commodites shouldn't have to compete in such an uneven contest, Mundo seems far from thrilled as he watches his opponents make their way to the ring for another handicap match which seems like a theme for the evening, despite his best efforts. He looks far from impressed as first Jeff Hardy and then Johnny Gargano makes their way to the ring. Jeff has a lingering leg injured, and Gargano just plainly looks bruised and exhausted from his own obsession with Ciampa, and it makes it so much easier for Mundo to get the upperhand early against them. He keeps attacking Jeff, focusing his attention on his weaker leg, but Gargano tries to stop him... just to receive a knee to the face for his trouble. Mundo's starting to have some trouble dealing with both at once, but Jeff is hurting and Gargano is tense over his wife, his former best friend, and everything else so Mundo takes advantage and lands a solid, brutal strike that sends Jeff down hard. Mundo follows this up by climbing up the turnbuckle and leaping off of the top rop but Jeff rolls away, just for John to land on his feet and quickly move to kick a few, solid hits against his side. "You're not gonna win!"

But his words die away quickly as Gargano punches him in the back of the head, causing them to stumble as both Jeff and Gargano regroup, neither thrilled with the situation they find themselves in.. Mundo collects himself quickly and attacks the closest thing to him, Gargano gasping as Johnny hoists him up, just to slam both forearms against his face, causing him to lose his grip. "I don't think so! _"_ he snarls at them, lunging forward and resuming to fight. Mundo ducks, however, and gets a shoulder under Gargano, sending him over the top rope and leaving him laying on the outside, staring up at the lights, and Johnny then turns his attention to Jeff, gripping him around the jaw and DDTing him into the mat with relief at holding his own this week against two men. Sitting back on his legs, Mundo weighs all of the options that he has before him before shrugging and going uptop once more. He dives, all of his weight crashing down on Jeff's chest in a bone-rattling End of the World.

Rolling over, he throws an arm over the man's heaving chest and feels more than hears as the referee counts out the pin, some cheers and some boos filling the arena as Mundo is declared the winner. He laughs and raises his arm in victory, taking in the mixed reaction, before turning to look at Gargano, who looks disgusted at _another_ loss under his belt. Which only makes Mundo laugh harder. Growling, Gargano turns and walks away while Mundo climbs the turnbuckles and poses in victory yet again.


	137. chapter 137

Paige sighs. Another week, another turn for her to lead Team Work. She mixes together the card quickly, not really eager to spend too much time on it. Between Kane getting injured at Extreme Rules, and everything else going on, she's very eager for this week to be over so she can go home and relax with her dogs. Considering the amount of names and how much time on the card, she decides on a number of multi-man matches, not too eager to deal with a long list of singles matches, especially when it comes to adding in points throughout the night.

For this reason, the first match of the night is a six man that pits Finn Balor, Bo Dallas and Dave Crist against Mil Muertes, Roderick Strong and Eli Isom. Bo and Eli start off but Eli is surprisingly strong and resilent for a guy new to the scene so Bo quickly struggles back to his corner and tags Crist in, Roderick sneaking in a tag and trying to overwhelm Dave with his cocky offense. Which works until Finn intervenes during a pin attempt, pulling Dave over to their corner and tagging in. He and Roddy lock up, Finn overwhelming Roderick and chopping him down before hitting a slingblade. He boots him hard, climbing the ropes to go for coup de grace, but Muertes, impatient, gets in and meets Finn in midair, grabbing him and slamming him down to the mat before grabbing Roderick by the hand and dragging him over to their corner, forcing a tag. He gets back in and grabs Finn, his fingers curling around his throat as he lifts him up and chokeslams him down once more. He climbs the ropes then and splashes down, knocking whatever wind remains out of Finn's lungs. As the former Universal champion struggles beneath him, the referee counts out the pin, neither Bo or Dave eager to interrupt and experience Muertes' anger themselves.

Ember Moon wrestles Kelly Klein next and, despite the Woman of Honor's competitor best attempts, Ember's cool, calm expertise is too much to overcome and she quickly wins with an Eclipse. Adam Cole finds himself partnering with Eric Young, Alexander Wolf, Cien Almas, and Matanza against Shinsuke Nakamura, The Mack, Chuckie T, Elias and Curtis Axel. Adam Cole laughs harshly as he gets the pin against Chuckie T, Shinsuke Nakamura staring at him as he stands with his US title over his shoulder, smirking at Adam and his North American title, unimpressed. Cole laughs at him as the match begins, the ten of them tagging in and out regularly until Nakamura comes in. Cole then slaps Cien on the back and gets in, smirk growing as Nakamura shakes his hands out, still unaffected by his fellow champion. They brawl back and forth, Shinsuke's strong style meeting Cole's dirty fighting style, their partners fine with standing back to watch as they struggle for some sort of advantage. It's only when Cole lands a Corona Kick and moves to tangle him up in the Figure Four that Shinsuke kicks himself free and scrambles over the ring, forcefully tagging in Chuckie T and falling out of the ring, crawling over to the timekeepers area to grab his belt. He watches, glowering, as Chuckie gets taken down by the Panama Sunrise and eats the pin. Scowling, Nakamura gets to his feet and walks towards the ramp, still watching Cole with some frustration, this clearly not over between them.

In a woman's tag match, Alexa Bliss looks beyond unhappy as she's forced to team up with Asuka against Carmella and Kairi Sane. Carmella looks uncomfortable as she looks across at Asuka, quickly tagging in Kairi Sane when it looks like she might be forced to start off against the woman who'd taken James Ellsworth out of commission temporarily. Kairi and Asuka fall into familiar patterns, both comfortable to go all out in Japanese style, exchanging blows and trying to catch the other in submissions, or with their best moves. Carmella starts to look happier as Kairi gets the upperhand against Asuka, eventually leaving her down after a solid boot to the face. Carmella's just tagged in and rushed over, trying to tangle her up in the cone of silence, when Asuka revives enough to attempt a reverse into the Asuka lock. Carmella screams and flails, feeling her arm already protesting, when she boots Asuka hard in the face and gets free, rushing back over to Kairi and tagging in. Alexa rolls her eyes and tags in, holding her own against Kairi after grabbing her around the neck and slamming her down. She goes up for the Twisted Bliss but Kairi rolls away and Alexa wipes out on the mat, gasping for breath as she crawls over to the corner. Kairi goes to the corner, setting up for her elbow with rapid stomps, while Carmella, getting a little braver with victory in their grasps, runs around the ring and slams Asuka down off of her corner before rushing back to safety, ending up running through the crowd when Asuka chases her. As Kairi dashes forward and strikes Alexa in the midsection, she grips her and drags her out into the middle of the ring, going up to the top and diving down with an elbow drop, gripping her legs and pinning her. Carmella only just escapes Asuka as she runs backstage, the match officially over.

Kenny King gets the winning pin in another six man match, teaming with Jake Crist and Eli Drake against Lio Rush, Harper and Killian Dain, both big man growing angry with their egotistical, young tag partner and leaving him to take the loss after only a few minutes of his lecturing them on how to match up against the three men on the other side of the ring. Due to Kevin Owens barely being able to walk, and Kyle O'Reilly's ego working against him, an angry and frustrated Rusev gets the victory in the triple threat match that follows after grabbing Kyle and throwing him out of the ring, knocking Owens down and stomping him brutally before locking in the Accolade, twisting his arms back until he gives up, almost screaming in pain after both the port-a-potty attack and getting thrown off of the steel cage through the announcers table below. To the surprise of everyone, Drew McIntyre defeats AJ Styles after he bats away an attempt at a phenomenal forearm, allowing Drew to grab him and spin him around before slamming him down, a dizzy AJ too vulnerable and walking right into a Future Shock, the pin that follows pretty much a foregone conclusion. The shocking wins continue when Big E takes out Bobby Lashley after avoiding his spear, sending him first face into the turnbuckles and gripping him, suplexing him backwards and bridging into a pin that Lashley can't get enough momentum up to kick out of due to the angle his body is being held in.

Rowan and Dolph Ziggler are the victors against Mojo Rawley and Kofi Kingston, and Ivelisse wins against Allie.

The final match of the night puts Daniel Bryan on the opposite side of the ring against an injured Kane, their partners nowhere near as reluctant as those two are to compete against each other. Cedric Alexander meets Baron Corbin with a series of kicks and knees, trying to stagger the bigger man, but Corbin bats him off, taking him down with a sidewalk slam. Cedric writhes around, grabbing at his back, and Corbin laughs, taunting Daniel and Sami Callihan as he drags Cedric around the ring, unimpressed with the cruiserweight champion. Sami seems unaffected but Daniel grits his teeth, wanting in against Corbin so badly. He's tempered slightly when Kane tags in, limping in and gripping Cedric, clearly moving to finish this early with a chokeslam, just for Cedric to kick him hard in the leg, the pain stabbing down his ankle and causing Kane to release him. Cedric dives and tags in Daniel, who stares wearily at his tag partner. Kane grits his teeth and limps over to his side of the ring, tagging in Xavier.

Daniel and he look at each other before falling into a quick sequence, headscissors and highflying attempts that get neither of them anywhere but is fun to watch, the crowd getting more and more into it as the two agile men try to get the upperhand on the other. It all comes to an end when Sami grabs Xavier by the hair and pulls him off of the top rope, sending him down to the apron in a bonerattling fall that leaves him gasping as he stares up at the lights. Daniel glares at Sami for a moment before moving to take advantage of it, climbing up to the top rope and diving down onto Xavier. Disgusted, he rolls over and tags Cedric in, the man gripping Xavier and moving to finish it with his lumbar check. Xavier, however, regroups just enough to land a knee to the side of Cedric's face and dive to his corner, tagging Baron in again. Sami enters then after sneaking a tag on Cedric, just to quickly get taken out by Corbin's boot. He tags back out, letting Cedric back in, and Corbin fights Cedric down to the mat, overwhelming the Cruiserweight champion with his height and power, just to eat a knee to the face. Some more strikes and boots and Baron is staggering, clearly close to dropping, and Cedric races the ropes, dropkicking Corbin's knees and sending him staggering to the mat.

Because of Corbin's height, it's an awkward move but with him down on his knees, Cedric succeeds in hitting a slightly alteration of the lumbar check, Corbin rebounding off of his knees to the mat, where he lays slumped as Cedric scrambles to roll him over and pin him. Daniel enters the ring just to keep Xavier at bay as Kane stands on the apron, clearly in pain from his leg, and they all breathe a little easier when the bell rings to signal the end of the match. Daniel rolls out of the ring to allow Cedric his celebration and walks around the ring, lifting his eyebrow as Kane gingerly sits down. "Need some help?"

Kane huffs at him but slowly stands, allowing Daniel to support him with an arm around his waist as they walk side by side up the ramp for what will probably be the last time in awhile.


	138. chapter 138

Stephanie grins, wandering the hall of her baby. She's not always available to run Team Work, but when she _is_ on the road, it's nice to come back and look into how the other general managers and commissioners are running things. All in all, she has no serious complaints. Raw people are dominating the stats, and all in all, things continue firing along on all cylinders. She smiles at Sumie Sakai as she walks past her to head towards her office to confirm the card for the night, eager to see how things will play out.

The first match is a triple threat pitting Kairi Sane vs Allie vs Kiera Hogan. Allie is clearly still in pain from her match against Tessa Blanchard, but she holds her own for a little while at the start until Kairi nearly sends her clean out of the ring after catching her and slinging her over her shoulder in a toss, bridging up into a pin that Kiera breaks up before three, Kairi turning her attention to Kiera while Allie struggles to catch her breath in the corner. They fight back and forth for awhile, Kiera finally getting the upperhand and trying to swing her into the cradle neckbreaker, but Kairi lands a knee to her head, causing her to lose her grip. Kairi lands another knee as she tries to advance, and sends her stumbling backwards into the turnbuckles where she slumps, shaking her head to try to get some awareness back. Kairi takes advantage of the moment, stepping back to set up her corner elbow. She's just picked up enough speed by stomping against the mat and had taken off at a run when Allie tackles her with a crossbody, sending her a few feet to the side as they tumble together, Allie raining blows down upon her before dropkicking her when she staggers towards her, still not quite ready to give up. She then turns to a still dazed Kiera and superkicks her after she stumbles out of the corner, landing an Allie DT and pinning her

Razer defeats Brian Cage, and Dolph Ziggler teams with Ortiz to a winning effort against Joe Hendry and Vibora, Ziggler's partnership with Drew McIntyre having reminded him how best to make a tag team work flawlessly, even though he doesn't know Ortiz at all. Sarah Logan continues her winning ways in a fatal fourway, sneaking back into the ring after laying low while Tessa Blanchard and Becky Lynch do the bulk of the work, getting into the ring just in time to toss both over the top rope and kick Becky away from where she's clinging to the ropes before handstanding into a knee drop across Lacey's prone form, pinning her. Sami Callihan walks out the victor in a triple threat against The Mack and Kassius Ohno, working through his injuries to take out Mack and land a rope assisted splash to get the pin on Ohno.

The next match is a fatal fourway, TJP, Killer Kross, Santana and Bo Dallas on opposite corners, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring. Immediately TJ ducks out of the ring and watches with a smirk as the three others fight back and forth, Bo and Killer Kross exchanging blows- while Santana rolls out of the ring and goes after TJ, who begs off, backing away from him, just to get grabbed and thrown back into the ring. He stumbles back and tries once more to escape just to get caught by Santana sweeping his legs out from under him. TJ gasps and struggles to get back to his feet just for Killer Kross to hoist a flailing Bo up and slam him down on top of TJ's chest. Bo rolls away and TJ staggers up too, the two of them exchanging looks before trying to work together to get the upperhand against the other two- just to get clotheslined down by Santana. TJ rolls to the side as Killer Kross and Santana trade places around Bo, keeping him down. TJ waits for a good moment and immediately twists Kross up into an abdominal stretch, pulling his arm behind him. Santana tries to break this up but TJ rebounds and tugs him in, twisting him up into a knee-bar while still holding onto Kross. It doesn't last as Kross takes his divided focus and headbutts him away, TJ stumbling back as Santana lands a solid superkick to his jaw, sending him back through the ropes and out of the ring. Bo eats a backdrop suplex before Santana takes Kross out by dropkicking him in the back and pinning Bo, TJ staring over the apron in disappointment as the bell rings to mark the end of the ring, holding onto his side as Santana mocks the crowd and celebrates his success.

Lio Rush survives a 14 man battle royal, his smug grin only growing as he takes in the crowd's response to the impressive win, and Sumie Sakai eakes out a victory against Su Yung, her innate kindness working against Su's darkness and attempts to defeat her by questionable means, allowing her to call back on her judo and martial art wherewithal to take her down and keep her down with a moonsault.

The main event is a tag team match, Johnny Mundo watching Drew Gulak as he enters the ring for a tag match pitting them against Akam and Mojo Rawley. Johnny isn't worried, used to fighting against guys much bigger than he is, and also used to cocky, obnoxious guys like Mojo. He's more concerned about getting along with Gulak long enough to actually succeed tonight, the two of them falling into an uneasy agreement as Gulak starts the match against Mojo, John pacing the apron as the two men fight back and forth brutally, both taking advantage of the newly found intensity they've both began showing since leaving Zack Ryder and the Zo Train behind them. John is almost impressed as Gulak holds his own against Mojo, avoiding his football like offense and general all around brutal strikes, slowing him down and slipping in growing bits of offense here and there, even succeeding in trapping Mojo in a Gu-lock, stretching back to put as much pressure on the move as he can. Mojo fights free, however, dropping Drew back and diving for a tag.

John tags himself in then and goes after Akam, dodging his brutal strength and landing a spinning dropkick, staggering Akam. Akam pushes him away, however, booting him in the face before hoisting him up and slamming him back down, Johnny writhing away, grabbing his back and struggling to breathe. Drew is still struggling to recover in the corner so Johnny forces himself back to his feet and meets an advancing Akam by bracing himself in the corner and hoisting up to land knees to the face, Akam once more falling back as John climbs the ropes and dropkicks down, finally getting Akam down to the mat. Mojo moves to stop what's next but Drew grabs him and suplexes him away, Mundo diving down into an End of the World that winds Akam and leaves him motionless on the mat, Mundo forcing himself to roll over and pin Akam, the referee counting to two- just for Akam to kick out. Mundo hits his fist against the mat, getting up to continue his offense, just to get taken out by Mojo's tackle, Drew losing control of the situation at the worst possible time.

John struggles up just to take another slam by Akam, but Drew is right there and pushes Mojo into the pile of humanity, breaking up the pin. He grabs John and pushes him aside, clotheslining Mojo down with all of his strength. John gasps for oxygen and slowly grabs at Akam, avoiding another wild swing of his fist before kneeing him briskly in the face, repeating the motion until he collapses in on himself. He grasps the turnbuckle, struggling to climb up in any sort of useful speed, leaping into another twist splash before scrambling for Akam's leg and holding on as the ref counts- one... two... three! Even Drew's face splits into a grin as they face what they've survived here this day, exchanging smirks as Mundo climbs the ropes to celebrate, Drew clapping a few times before leaving John to his own celebration, Drew not interested in indulging the crowd with their cheap platitudes now that he's won alongside one of their favorites.

Stephanie finishes marking down the new wins, updating the points list. Two names are towards the top, with a lot of people struggling to advance as well. She sighs, tapping her pen against the paper. "Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler are tied to win the cycle," she mulls to herself with an eyeroll. Not the best choices, considering, but they're WWE guys, and even better, both are Raw guys, so things could be a lot worse. She smirks, counting the weeks to Summerslam, and wondering if anyone else could overtake the two men in the four weeks that remain in the cycle. _Either way, things are never boring..._


	139. chapter 139

 

Baron Corbin looks angry after all of the humiliations he suffered on Raw, casting dark glares over all of the wrestlers he walks by on his way to the office. Stephanie had given him the week to be in charge, book whatever he wants. It's annoying, he thinks, as he stares down at the long list of names sprawled out before him. Fourty men and women, all from different wrestling companies all around America and Japan, and he just wants to go out and personally destroy them all himself but he's not allowed to. So he does the next best thing and makes up a list of the hardest hitting, most destructive match combos he can think of.

The B Team continues their improbable winning ways to start the night off, Bo Dallas teaming with Dezmond Xavier and Tanahashi to defeat Finn Balor, Jay White and Matanza Cuerto in six man action. The next match is a tag match pitting Curtis Axel and Matt Taven against Jake Strong and Lince Durado, Axel and Taven's styles gelling together well from the beginning. Lince is no challenge, mostly do to his hand injury, but Axel takes a fair amount of damage from Jake Strong, eating a lot of suplexes and throws, Strong eventually putting all of his focus on mat-based wrestling, trying to weaken Axel's leg up for the ankle lock, until Taven leans as far into the ring as he possibly can to slap at Axel and eventually gets a tag, managing to get in and suplex Jake away from Axel, bridging into a pin that Strong kicks out of at 2.

They roll away from each other to reset and when Jake rushes back at him, Matt lifts his legs up and hits him solidly in the face, sending him crashing back into the mat. As he struggles to get up, Matt climbs the top rope and leaps off in a frog splash, Jake taking it full on before scrambling to stand once more, trying to clasp his arms around Taven for another suplex- just for Matt to kick back and free himself, the ref only just missing the groin shot and looking confused as Strong staggers back, turning an interesting shade of purple as Taven grabs him and spike DDTs him. Before he can go for a pin, Axel tags himself back in and Taven gapes in disbelief, frozen, as he rushes in and plants Strong with the Axehole, pinning him. Taven tugs his hair, angry, and rolls out of the ring, staring Axel down as he walks backwards up the ramp, a mulish look on his face as Curtis celebrates obnoxiously.

Mojo Rawley finds himself facing off with Samoa Joe, who sneers at him, looking unimpressed. As the bell rings, he motions for a mic and turns his back to Mojo. "To be honest, I've never seen the point to this entire thing. Good for those of you who needs to win a contest to get a title opportunity, but my focus is on becoming the new Smackdown World Heavyweight Champion. So, this is unneccessary to me." Dropping the mic, he leaves a confused Mojo behind and makes his way back up the ramp as the referee counts him out, granting the easy win to Mojo.

Cien Almas gets the winning pin in a six man match that pits him, Seth Rollins and Kushida against Dragon Azteca Jr, Adam Cole and King Cuerno. Sasha Banks defeats Becky Lynch, and the team of Tessa Blanchard, Ember Moon and Lacey Evans successfully hold their own versus Bayley, Kagetsu and Asuka.

Next, TK O'Ryan wins against Akira Tozawa. Tommaso Ciampa comes to the ring, unimpressed as he stares at his partners, Kofi Kingston and Kalisto, all three of them looking displeased with having to work together against the team of Roman Reigns, Brian Cage and Drew Gulak. Kalisto and Drew start things off, but there are a lot of tags for both sides, Ciampa eventually holding his own against Cage for awhile before getting overwhelmed and tagging Kofi in, Roman getting in a bit later. The ring fills up not long after that as all six men begin brawling, and Ciampa looks up to find Roman bearing down on him so he grabs Kofi and pulls him in the way, stepping aside hurriedly as Kofi eats the spear and the pin, Ciampa ignoring Kalisto's yelling at him as he makes his way up the ramp, shaking his head and holding onto his title belt protectively. Despite being all around sore after weeks from facing off against Nia Jax, Natalya and Ronda Rousey, Mickie James defeats Hana Kimura with a solid Mick Kick to the face.

Johnny Mundo finds himself partnering with Vinnie Marseglia against Ishimori and Big E. He seems nonplussed by Vinnie's axe or balloons, being part of Lucha Underground meaning that not much startles him any longer. They actually mesh together pretty well, Vinnie's eccentric style keeping Ishimori busy while until Johnny tags in to match his speed and agility against Big E, the two of them circling each other until Johnny lunges forward and E grabs him, trying to slam him backwards just for John to land on his feet and kick him solidly in the back, sending E staggering forward. John dropkicks him and then lands a Spanish Fly, getting a two count before Vinnie rushes in to stop Ishimori. The referee gets order once more and Johnny turns to take a boot right to the face, staggering back until he hits the mat. Big E picks him up, getting in position for the Big Ending, but John claps his hands over Big E's skull until he breaks E's clasped hand.

John leans against the ropes and struggles for breath as Big E rushes at him once more, getting his shoulder down and sending Big E over the ropes, stepping forward to get enough space to hit Big E with a spinning kick, causing him to hit the floor roughly. Vinnie hops down and ignores the referee as he leers down at Big E, Mundo running off of the ropes and flying over, Big E standing in time for John to land solidly on him and sending them both down hard. Vinnie rolls his eyes and hoists Big E back into the ring before sending John in after him, not wanting a double countout to ruin their chances at getting _something_ from this match. He's leaning in for the tag when Big E kicks John away and scrambles over to tag in Ishimori. John has no time to tag out as well and has to fight back, meeting him half way and sending Ishimori down with a sideslam. He kicks back up to his feet and goes for the ropes, climbing up and preparing for The End of The World, glancing quickly over at Big E as he jumps, spiraling onto Ishimori's chest and scrambling for the pin.

Big E looks frustrated, hesitating on the apron, considering entering to break up the pin, but lets it play out just for Ishimori to fail at kicking out so the win goes to Johnny Mundo. He shakes his head and glares over at Vinnie as he taunts him from the relative safety of his corner, yelling indescipherable insults over the crowd's displeasure at this conclusion. John just laughs and rolls out of the ring, lifting a hand in smug success, reveling in the crowd's hate.


	140. chapter 140

 

Paige rests her hands behind her back and smiles as she passes by a group of wrestlers on her way to the office. She hums under her breath and counts the weeks until Summerslam, deciding it's time to erase the people with no chance at success in this cycle- ridding the list of the one pointers making it easier to keep track of things. But first, she decides, she'll let the evening play out and take things from there. With two weeks remaining in the cycle after tonight, it makes as much sense as anything else she could do at this stage. Upon finishing the card, she settles in to watch and keep track of the points.

The first match of the night pits Austin Aries against Dash Wilder. Austin smirks at him as he hands off the title belts he's carrying, the people surrounding the timekeeper area looking overwhelmed as they pile up his belts. Despite Austin's success since leaving WWE, Wilder seems undisturbed and meets him in the middle of the ring, not flinching as Austin stares him down. He takes the first swing and Dash drops back, returning with a swing of his own, and then the two men fall upon each other, exchanging blows and trying to take advantage of each possible moment of weakness to overwhelm the other into slams or suplexes, just for Dash to land a solid boot when Austin hits the ropes and rebounds. He staggers back and grabs his face, glaring at a smug Dash before landing a knee of his own on the side of Dash's face.

Dash responds by grabbing him and German suplexing him. Austin fights out, and hoists him up into a brainbuster, Dash laying there dazed as Aries covers him, only getting to a two count before Dash kicks out. They lay side by side, trying to regroup, when Austin struggles up to his feet and climbs the ropes, staring down at Dash before diving in a 450 splash, just to hit nothing but canvas as Dash rolls away at the last possible second. He groans and grits his teeth, grabbing his midsection, just to get knocked back down with a vicious set of chop blocks, gasping for breath.

Dash tries to pull him up to his feet and Austin fights out, taking his feet out from under him, trying to tangle him up in the Last Chancery. Dash still has a lot of fight still, and he struggles so hard that Aries can't hold onto the move, his midsection still sore as Dash fights free and knees him hard in the jaw, grabbing his legs and tangling him up in the inverted figure four leg lock, using his free leg to grind down on Austin's ribcage, adding to the distress he's in. It sucks, he wants to continue in the cycle, but sharp, tearing pain is moving up his knee to his thigh and he can't risk his run as the title collector. So he closes his eyes and taps angrily, relieved on some level when the referee intercedes and makes Dash release him, Austin rolling out of the ring and vowing to himself to make up for this somehow, someway.

Paige, led by curiosity of some of the guys in other federations that she doesn't know that well, decides to test certain people out with handicapped matches to see what they can do. The first on the card pits EC3 against Daga and Hanson. Although he's fighting uphill, he eventually gets the upperhand after kicking Hanson hard and sending him clean off of the apron before hitting the TKO on Daga and getting the win.

Sasha Banks finds herself teaming with Charlotte Flair, the two women looking at each other, unimpressed, as their opponents come out- first Kiera Hogan, and then Bayley. Sasha's face goes deceptively blank as she looks out at her best friend and current tag partner, neither looking thrilled with this situation. Sasha starts off against Kiera and they fight back and forth, Sasha with the clear advantage against the other girl. She overwhelms her early, slamming her backwards and trying to bridge into a pin, just for Kiera to kick out and dive into her corner, tagging Bayley in. The two friends stare at each other, tense and unsure what to do, when Charlotte tags in impatiently and immediately goes right for Bayley, chopping her and sending her away from Kiera. She suplexes her and tries to bridge up, but Bayley kicks her hard and gets free, just to fall back on the defensive as Charlotte goes for more chops and strikes, her lips pursing as she works towards victory.

Sasha grows more and more annoyed the longer Charlotte keeps the upperhand and then she tags herself in, pushing Bayley over to the opposite corner and holding her in place until Kiera gets in, Sasha having no problem getting the upperhand on Kiera, easily overwhelming her and almost getting her set up in the Bank Statement when Kiera pushes her away and Charlotte slaps her shoulder, tagging in and finishing the job by chopping KIera a few times until she's struggling just to breathe, hitting a natural selection before tangling her up in the Figure Eight, bracing back until she taps out.

Bayley doesn't look thrilled, but not at Sasha as they regroup on the other side of the ring, Sasha draping an arm over her shoulder and squeezing her soothingly as they walk side by side up the ramp.

Son of Havoc gets the winning pin in a six man match pitting him, Hernandez and Kenny Omega against Cage, EVIL and Killshot. Marty Scurll wins the second handicapped match of the night by using Sheamus and Baron Corbin's egos against them, making the two tall men argue in the middle of the match before faking out a superkick, just to land an actual kick to Sheamus' knee, causing him to lose his balance and fall back into the ropes, Marty quickly turning to kick Corbin hard in the chest when he comes forward to attack him. He staggers back and Marty grabs him, hitting the Party's Over, pinning him before Sheamus can recover enough to stop the count.

Jinder Mahal defeats King Cuerno and, in a triple threat trios match, Rohit Raju gets the victory for himself, Apollo and Bhupinder Singh against Ibushi, Cesaro and Cedric Alexander, Chris Sabin, Scott Dawson and Sanada. Bushi is the third of the evening to succeed in his handicapped match, keeping the upperhand against The Mack and Raymond Rowe just long enough to land Fire Bird Splash and defeat Mack.

Zelina Vega comes to the ring next, looking smug and happy after a streak of wins against Lana. She looks unimpressed as Allie comes down to the ring for a tag match that pits them against Shayna Bazsler and Alicia Fox, neither of them seeming thrilled with their tag partners either. "You do I say, or I'll finish what Ronda started with you," Shayna warns her temporary tag partner. Alicia scoffs and flounces away, getting out of the ring and standing on the apron while Shayna starts the match by running through Allie like she's nothing. Zelina doesn't have much better luck and Alicia looks bored as she checks her nails, peering around at the crowd as they react to Shayna's intense offense against the other women. She yawns and shrugs, not interested in anything going on in the ring, until Shayna sees her lack of concentration and storms over, tagging her in. "Finish this," she barks at her, stepping back and letting Alicia into the ring.

She meets Zelina with a boot to the face, downing her before tangling her fingers into Zelina's hair, getting her into position for a scissors kick. The impact downs her immediately, and Shayna blocks Allie from getting to Alicia to stop the pin, Alicia shocked as she gets the victory without Shayna doing anything to keep her from securing the point. They stare at each other as Shayna smirks and rolls out of the ring, walking up the ramp.

Lio Rush finds himself in the final handicap match of the night, wrestling against Kalisto and Homicide. He holds his own fine against Kalisto but Homicide gets the tag after Kalisto kicks Lio almost out of the ring and then overwhelms him at every turn. Although he tries to fight back, there's only so much he can do. He does eventually get enough space to try to go for a Spanish Fly but Homicide positions himself just right and downs him with the Gringo Cutter, pinning him. It eats at Lio that he'd be the first with this level of disadvantage to lose to this extent. He closes his eyes and digs his fingers into the mat, vowing to be better, faster, stronger, in the future.


	141. chapter 141

For the second week in a row, Paige gets the honor of booking the show. She stares down at the limited list of people remaining in the cycle, comparing them to the list of wrestlers working the night. She thinks she made things a little more complicated than they need to be, with a lot of the matches now filler, but it is what it is, she doesn't regret her decision last week. Makes the points easier to keep track of, she thinks, trailing a finger up and down the list of names. Turning to her laptop, she works on the matches for the night, content to pad the night with multi-man matches to fill the show. "That should do," she decides once she's find a place for everyone backstage this evening, tapping her lips with the tip of her fingernail.

The first match of the night is a handicapped match, pitting Ishimori against Jay Briscoe and PJ Black, the two of them only working together as much as necessary to keep from getting disqualified. Ishimori has no real chance, PJ Black in the middle of climbing to the top for his 450 splash, when Jay tags in before he can fly off of the turnbuckle. As soon as he lands it, Jay enters and hits a J-Diller to finish Ishimori off completely, PJ not looking too thrilled at losing an opportunity at getting the pin. The tension is palpable as the two partners glower at each other until PJ leaves the ring and walks back up the ramp.

The recently engaged Taya Valkyrie rides the success of the last few weeks of her life to lead her team to victory, Kelly Klein and Nikki Cross all helping her to hold their own against Taynara Conti, Becky Lynch and Tessa Blanchard until she can dive off of the top and take out Taynara with a splash, pinning her while their partners brawl outside of the ring.

Ronda Rousey enters the ring for her first match on the Team Work roster, grinning around at the crowd before falling serious, her eyes locked on Liv Morgan as she walks to the ring, followed by Zelina Vega. Both women look a little uncomfortable coming face to face with the former UFC competitor, but when the bell rings, their strategy becomes obvious before too long, the two women constantly tagging in and out, distracting the referee, double teaming Ronda at every opportunity, leaving her struggling. In a one on one fight, she's fine, and in tag team matches, she can more than hold her own, but struggling to keep her eye on multiple opponents, trying to focus on what the referee's attention is on, she's starting to slip. Liv and Zelina are distressingly smart, taking their turns wearing her down with their various styles of offense.

It all comes to a sudden finish when Zelina lands a senton and Liv immediately follows it up with a solid kick to Ronda's face before hitting a Jersey codebreaker, pinning her. She kicks out but Zelina is right there, moonsaulting on top of her and Liv once more diving in, striking her with a boot, then a facebuster. As Liv pins her, Zelina rushes over to the corner of the ring where Ronda is struggling to get to the ropes and grabs Ronda's arms, holding them down as she uses her height to keep out of sight of the referee. When she hears the three count called out, she slumps down, letting go of Ronda, and scrambles away when Liv rushes up the ramp, laughing wildly as Ronda stares at them, horrified at her first real loss under the WWE umbrella.

Kofi Kington wins in a six man match while teaming with Dolph Ziggler and Rowan against Tony Nese, Bully Ray and Bobby Roode. Following this, Dragon Azteca Jr succeeds against Buddy Murphy.

The next match up sees Roman Reigns facing off against Matanza Cueto. He does everything he can, spears, superman punches, even tries a few moves he's not used to, hoisting Cueto's thick form up and trying to suplex him down, but he loses his grip halfway through the move and they land awkwardly, Cueto barely seeming to take any damage. He responds by hitting Roman with an uppercut so powerful that he staggers, landing awkwardly on one knee. Matanza forces him upright once more, tangling his arms around him and German suplexing him, rolling him up into a pin. Roman kicks out but Matanza impresses all with his agility as he avoids another spear and gets ahold of Roman and Spin Scoop Powerslams the man, gaining the three count this time.

Petey Williams defeats Naito, and Drew McIntyre makes quick work of Hideo Itami and Kassius Ohno, Itami watching on, unimpressed from the apron, as Drew keeps Ohno down for the three count.

In a rare intergender match, Charlotte finds herself facing off against Aerostar. They examine each other, adjusting their gear subtly, before approaching each other. They actually seem pretty evenly matched- his highflying risk taking is countered by her solid defense, Charlotte avoiding the worst of his moves and fighting back from as many of the rest as she can. When she takes him out with a natural selection and hits a moonsault, the crowd all gets to their feet, expecting a win, but he survives a little longer, grabbing her around the waist and adjusting their positions until she's in place for a flip piledriver, Charlotte blinking up in a daze as Aerostar climbs up top to land a 450 splash to finish it off.

Except that she grits her teeth and recovers, rolling away just in time for him to crash against the pavement and lay there, twitching. She scrambles over to him, tangles him up in the figure four before bridging up into the figure eight, Aerostar yelling out in pain past his mask before tapping out desperately. She immediately lets him go and rolls out of the ring, struggling to catch her breath as the referee goes back and forth, checking on both of them before lifting Charlotte's hand up to note her victory.

Jack Evans finds himself in an eight man tag alongside Punishment Martinez, Pentagon Jr and Harper, against Johnny Mundo, Keith Lee, Shane Taylor and Big E. Considering how things had fallen apart for them with Worldwide Underground, it shouldn't be too difficult for Jack to fight with Mundo, but Mundo's arm is injured, and he can't quite get of his own head, Martinez losing his temper and tagging in roughly at first opportunity. He overwhelms Mundo quickly, risking to tear his arm apart even worse, and Johnny tries to fight back with everything he has, eventually having no choice but to tag out, Keith Lee working his way through Martinez and Harper, eventually losing some ground against Pentagon Jr until Big E tags in. He slams Pentagon away, clotheslining off the others from the corner, just to dance backwards when they move to attack him, the referee struggling to keep ahold of everything.

Because of this, he doesn't notice Jack Evans tagging back in, but he does notice when the man crashes down on top of him, not seeming to mind too much when Big E kicks out and immediately gets back into place to fight him. Jack has the advantage now, though, and fights Big E down once more, running the ropes and booting him hard in the face, using all of the momentum to hurt him as best as he can as quickly as he can. He climbs up and dives off in a Corkscrew 630, immediately winding BIg E and only just managing to get the energy together to pin him, closing his eyes in relief when his partners hold back the other competitiors. He breathes heavily as he rolls out of the ring and closes his eyes, amazed that he'd won. He laughs to himself and shakes his head, struggling upright and looking over at Mundo as he cradles his arm.

John blinks, then nods at him sharply before turning to leave ringside.

Jack exhales, feeling a weight fall off of his shoulders at that brief acknowledgment from his former leader.

The main event leads off with Joey Ryan walking to the ring, taunting the crowd with his lollipop and being all around sleazy as he rubs more oil over his body, smirking as some boo him and some watch, oddly enthralled. All eyes turn to the entrance ramp, however, as familiar guitars echo through the arena, Japanese metal taking over the sound system. Shinsuke Nakamura gyrates his way to the ring, ignoring the crowd as he dances for himself, enjoying the Japanese that so few of this crowd probably understands. He smirks as he faces off with Joey Ryan, looking unimpressed as the referee takes his belt and hands it off to one of the ringside people, Shinsuke watching closely until it's safely on the table.

Only then does he turn his attention to Joey, the two of them circling each other as the bell rings. They start off slow, feeling each other out, Nakamura's lips twitching as Joey throws a few strikes at him. He's nonplussed, returning with a few open-fisted strikes of his own, and Joey stumbles back, before landing a dropkick. Nakamura rolls away, trying to regain his footing before Joey tries something else, just to instinctively throw an arm out, trying to hit a lowblow. Joey quickly moves away and taunts him by ragging his finger at him. "Not going to be that easy, besides my member is too strong for _that_."

Shinsuke scoffs at him, lunging forward and hitting him with a knee, before Joey gets a grip and powerbombs him down, barely getting a one before Nakamura kicks out. They regroup on opposite ends of the ring, staring at each other, and the referee looks uncomfortable as Nakamura again goes for a groin blow, just for Joey to stop short and let it happen. Nakamura curses and writhes, unable to let go as Joey slams him over, using the strength of his lower body to send him over. Nakamura uses the ropes to get himself back up and opts to distract the referee by untying the turnbuckle. As the man settles upon putting that pad back on the post, Shinsuke lunges forward this time and, instead of doing it the usual way, waits until Joey is close enough- and then kicks, directly between his legs. Joey immediately crumbles, grabbing himself and writhing around as the referee stares on, uncertain what to do with any of this.

 _How did that work?!_ he thinks in a haze of pain, his entire body all but paralyzed from the agony throbbing up his core. Shinsuke stalks around him before pressing his boot against Joey's face and forcing him to sit up until he's at about the right height for the Kinsasha, writhing around in the corner before lunging forward and landing the knee right to the face. As Joey collapses once more to the mat, Nakamura covers him and hooks his leg, laughing out loud as the referee announces him the winner.

It's the great lead into Summerslam. He can't stop smiling as he stands there with his US title and sneers out of the crowd, pleased with himself. "This Sunday," he declares to the crowd, "we will have the same end result. I will forever be _your_ US champion!"


	142. Chapter 142

****

Stephanie is in agony. Her arm keeps sending shooting pain down her arm into her fingers and it's very distracting from what's going on around her, but she feels alright too. Angle is taking a sabbatical from Raw, and all in all, she thinks things will be more stable without him. He'd been acting very unprofessional lately anyway. For now, however, she has to turn her attention to Team Work. It's the final week of this cycle and she wants, needs things to go perfectly. So she refreshes her ice pack and settles in to work, determined to book the best card she can to crown the winner of the cycle.

Balloons of different shapes and sizes. No Gedo by his side. Bright red hair. All in all, Okada has changed a lot in the sparce few weeks since losing the IWGP championship. Bo Dallas isn't even sure what to expect as the two men face off in the middle of the ring to start the night off, his eyes narrowed in confusion as Okada bats balloons towards the crowd, not seeming to care when they all fall short of actually reaching any of the children who look eager to have one. As he turns to look at Bo, a maddening grin on his face, even Bo looks freaked out and steps back as the bell rings and Okada lunges forward to start the match off at his own speed. Bo tries to defend himself, maybe get the upperhand against the unhinged man, but there's little he can do- Okada is just too strong, too agile, too smart for Bo to have any hope. He knows it's already slipping through his fingers when Okada hits him with a dropkick and he realizes he can't get up, the quick follow up of an elbowdrop from the top rope leaving him writhing around and gasping for air.

From there, all Bo really can do is stagger around and take more damage- a german suplex into a jumping neckbreaker drop, followed up by a tombstone. He's completely out of it, struggling just to breathe, when he feels himself pulled to his feet. _This is it,_ he thinks, barely feeling the impact of the Rainmaker as Okada finishes him off with a pin that, at that point, is just a formality. Focused, concise, crazed- all words Bo would use to describe Okada later on when he could speak again.

Despite the formidable team of Ronda and Ruby Riott, the two women fail to get along and it ultimately leads them to lose to Karen Q and Zelina Vega, the two crafty women working together well enough to overwhelm them, Karen taking Ronda off of the apron while Zelina finishes off Ruby after targetting her recently healed knee. Lio Rush wins against Titus O'Neil, and Jeff Hardy continues his risky offense by defeating Chris Sabin after a dive out of the ring onto Chris left him completely unable to recover.

Roman Reigns finds himself partnering with Angelo Dawkins against Baron Corbin and Cien Almas and, after so many months of frustration, it feels good to be able to take it all out on Corbin in a sanctioned match. Angelo barely gets in the ring before Roman hits a flurry of superman punches and spears to get the win. Ricochet beats Kofi Kingston, and Big E makes up for it a little by getting the winning pin in a six man match, Eli Drake and Velveteen Dream seeming unimpressed as their partner loses, none of them really able to get the upperhand between the individual abilities of Matanza and Finn Balor, who work together well enough to keep the opposing team on their toes.

Charlotte faces off against Kairi Sane next, and the two newly crowned champions fall quickly back on their submissions, trying to take advantage of the weaknesses caused by their individual matches over the weekend- Kairi's trying to lock in a crosslegged Boston Crabs, trying to get armbars locked in, anything she can attempt to make Charlotte tap, but the fuel of both her title win and Becky's betrayal keeps her from tapping out that easily, using her long limbs to grip the ropes and hold on until she's released, immediately rolling onto her feet and landing the natural selection before twisting Kairi up into the figure eight, arching back viciously until she taps, the win going to Charlotte. She's breathless and grim, but clearly respectful of her fellow champion as she holds her hand out to Kairi and helps her back up to her feet, shaking her hand and smiling at her as she bows to Charlotte, the pure sign of class and dignity even in the face of disappointing loss.

Despite his best efforts, Bobby Roode just cannot get anything significant going against Tyler Bate, and eventually finds himself dazed, staring up at the lights as Tyler pins him after a scoop piledriver, unable to get back up off of the mat.

CHAOS continues to reign as Shinsuke Nakamura finds himself in the ring facing off against Curtis Axel. He laughs at him, spitting out Japanese as Axel looks on, hesitant and still a little weirded out from Bo's recollection of his match against Okada barely an hour earlier. He gets a _little_ more of a fight in than Bo, but not by much, the US champion seeming amused at Curtis' attempts at offense. From there, it's just a snapping kick to the jaw, followed by a scoop slam that leaves Curtis struggling just to sit up... in time to take a kinsasha to the jaw. Once his win is confirmed, Nakamura rolls out of the ring and saunters back up the ramp, laughing and letting his music move him. Everything stills as he stops in the gorilla position, tilting his head at Okada himself, eyes dark and fixed. "There you are," he says, Okada turning to look at him.

"Hai, there I am," he says simply, the two of them stepping closer to each other as the next wrestlers head to the ring for their time in the spotlight.

"Gedo-san is worried," Nakamura says, fingers tapping against his title belt, watching how Okada's eyes shift over its shiny, well taken care of surface, almost hungrily. Nakamura understands- the IWGP belt had become Okada's life for so very long, he'd breathed, ate, drank and slept that belt. To be rid of it now... "I am worried." He touches Okada now, squeezing his shoulder, but Okada merely smiles. A broken, sad, facsimile of the smile he used to give those closest to him, one that does nothing to ease the fear blooming in Shinsuke's chest the longer he spends with his former CHAOS teammate.

"Neither you nor Gedo-san have reason to be. I am fine. I have my balloons and my new hair color..." His eyes stare at something far away that Nakamura can't touch, before he blinks and refocuses on the man before him. "As I said. I am fine." He offers another weak smile before collecting a few of the balloons scattered around him and turns away, walking down the hall and leaving a troubled, uncertain Shinsuke behind.

Tommaso Ciampa smirks as he comes out, still champion. He's in a mixed tag match with Kobra Moon, facing off against an injured Rowan and an incensed Becky Lynch. Although Ciampa holds his own relatively well against the taller man, Kobra is at an easy disadvantage as Becky Lynch lets out all of her rage and bitterness onto the Lucha Underground competitor every time they're legal, all of the supernatural tricks she has in her arsenal not enough to douse Becky's fire. Rowan has taken out Ciampa with a sweep of his good arm, cutting his legs out from under him, and the crowd holds its breath as finally Becky gets _some_ sort of a win this weekend, Kobra tapping desperately to the disarmer after Becky had pulled her away from the ropes twice, refusing to allow her opponent to find any kind of respite.

Hideo Itami gets a win against Dragon Azteca Jr, and Ortiz defeats Kenny King. Apollo Crews teams successfully with Tanahashi to win against Jeremiah Snake and Fenix, and Daga finds himself the winner in a triple threat match after Harper takes out Miz with a big boot and Daga suplexes him back into the middle of the ring, finishing it by landing mata león and rushing into a pin, Harper unable to kick out in time, the man's anger enough for Daga to quickly rush out of the ring before he could get too caught up in it.

The main event of the evening pits Seth Rollins against Santana. He feels good, rejuvenated now that Dean Ambrose is back from rehabbing his injury, and now that the Intercontinental title is back around his waist. It's an overabudance of riches, to be honest. He can't stop grinning as he waits for his opponent to make his way down to the ring, staring out at the crowd, the only thing that'd kept him going through the lonely months spent fighting uphill against Drew and Dolph and feeling like he was getting nowhere... just for Dean to call at exactly the right time and inform him he was ready to come back. His grin is quickly tempered however, as Santana is tough, and has clearly done his homework. He goes after Seth's knee almost from the moment the bell rings and Seth gasps as the surgically repaired leg is taken out from under him, Santana quickly dropping down onto it, grinding his own knee down on Seth's, leaving him writhing and twitching until he can get to the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold.

From there, the fight is on- Seth is angry now, each burst of pain up his leg with each step reminding him of all he'd endured, how stupid shit like that could cause a set back he never wants to endure again. He hits quickly, with determination and speed, and before long, Santana is down on the mat, struggling to reclaim any sort of momentum. Seth pulls him to his feet and, as if proving to himself and the world that his knee is ok, lands the ripcord knee, before going to a corner and stomping to signal the end is near, the crowd yelling along with him _BURN IT DOWN!_ He runs forward, stomps down on Santana's head, planting him with a picture perfect curbstomp, and then pins the man, laughing as he lifts his belt up high and thinks about getting beers with his brother. His life is pretty damn sweet right now.

Backstage, however, is another matter, as Stephanie painstakingly tallies the numbers. Even counts it all over again. She pinches her nose and leans forward, careful not to put any weight on her reinjured arm. This hasn't really been necessary since the first cycle, but there's no way out of it now. Three people had tied in top amounts of points for this cycle. So she calls them into her office and looks from person to person, trying to make them see just how vital all of this is. Both for themselves, but also for the brand, for herself. "We need to have a triple threat match," she confesses slowly. "To determine which of you three will be moving on to challenge any champion you prefer. If you want to drop out, I don't blame you, but the match will be held next week so I need to know."

"Hell no," Braun Strowman snaps.

"Please," Dolph says dismissively, not even looking at her as he fiddles with his phone.

"I'm looking forward to it," Charlotte says, the only woman to get this far this entire cycle.

Stephanie closes her eyes. "Fine. Next week, it will be a triple threat match to determine who has been successful here tonight. Thank you for your time," she says, sounding disinterested now that business is handled.

As soon as they're gone, she leans forward and pinches her nose, hoping for the absolute best from all of this mess.


	143. chapter 144

Paige smiles, rocking back and forth on her heels. "So. We opted to hold your match this week instead of last so you'd all be well-rested and at 100%," she tells Charlotte, Braun Strowman and Dolph Ziggler. "It's going to start the night off, since none of you are in the matches that begin the next cycle.

The three competitors nod, exchanging dark looks before Charlotte brushes her hair over her shoulder, nods at Paige and leaves the room, focused and determined to do her best even though she's already at something of a disadvantage. It's obvious early on that Braun isn't going to touch her, though he seems content to throw Dolph around, and at times, she finds herself working _with_ Braun, the two of them almost amused as they work Ziggler over, leaving him a twisted heap on the mat as she locks in the figure eight. Even Braun can't let that go, however, and pushes her off of him, not enough to hurt her, but enough to break up the submission. He hoists Dolph up and tosses him aside, pinning him once more, but she rushes up the turnbuckle and dives, landing solidly along Braun's back, sending him off of Dolph.

She stands for a few moments, trying to think of what to do next, before chopping Braun hard across the chest once he gets to his knees. Another chop and Braun is now at his full height, staring down at her. She stands her ground but he turns his back on her, reaching out for Dolph- just to take a superkick to the face. Braun, surprised, staggers a bit and gets met by Charlotte's boot, Dolph struggling to get his footing under him as he grabs Braun and tries to slam him... just for his knees to buckle but before he could go down, Charlotte dropkicks Braun and sends him over on top of Ziggler, Charlotte then diving forward and pinning Ziggler- just for him to kick out at 2. She gasps and immediately moves for the Figure Eight but he grabs her and rolls her up, getting a three before she could even realize what's happening.

He laughs uproariously at both of them, pointing at them as he rushes up the ramp and collapses on the metallic grating. "The winner of this cycle, Dolph Ziggler!" he mouths along with the ring announcer, teeth flashing in the bright lights overhead as he waves mocking at them.

In the first official match of the night, Matt Sydal gets the inning pin while teaming up with Jake Strong against Fallah Bahh and Mr. Atlantis.

Xavier Woods vs Tanahashi is everything one would expect. Harsh offense at times, mixed in with a lot of highflying, and some impressive chainwrestling, the two of them clearly eager to outdo one another with every breath taken, Tanahashi only just keeping up with the innovative, impressive young man. In the end, it just takes one mistake- Tanahashi goes for the high fly flow and Xavier gets his knees up, Tanahashi immediately crumpling to the ground and allowing Xavier to hit Lost in the Woods, which continues his fantastic week by giving him yet another win to feel proud of.

Gran Metalik defeats Matt Jackson, and Kazuchika Okada's bad luck continues when he and Bobby Lashley lose to Nick Jackson and Dean Ambrose, the recently returned wrestler using his fresher skills to take the former IWGP champion out and keep him overwhelmed until Dean can get the pin in, pride leeching through his anger. Scott Dawson wins against Mil Muertes and Peyton Royce continues her winning ways by pinning Sarah Logan after landing her Venus Fly Trap. Lince Durado succeeds against KM and Elias finds himself on the losing end, Brandon Tidwell continuing to be just a step or two ahead of him enough to eak out a pin.

Flip Gordon, teaming up with Noam Dar and Jay White, gets some revenge for not being All In by pinning Cody after Pentagon Dark and Roman Reigns both get sick of his ego and demands to be the _leader_ of their team and leave him high and dry right in the middle of the action. Flip has to laugh at how well it's all come together.

Liv Morgan outlasts both Kiera Hogan and Lana, allowing the two of them to go at it in the middle of the ring while she pretends to be unconscious on the outside, just to roll back in before Lana can get a cover and kicks her hard right in the spine, sending her crumpling off of Kiera. Liv then runs the ropes and knees Kiera in the head before pinning her, rushing herself into the ropes and sticking her tongue out as she celebrates her win. After a brutal back and forth where Kofi tries _everything,_ his lengthy hours of celebrating winning the tag belts back catches up with him and he loses to Sami Callihan, staring up at the lights in some dazed confusion at how quickly it had all gone for him.

Pete Dunne takes on Rusev and Dash Wilder in a triple threat and his win is a mere forgone conclusion when both men strike each other with their harder punches, downing each other. Dunne has no offense, continuing to weaken them with knees, fists, then when Dash gets up, he headbutts him with as much brutality as he can afford, dazing both of them, though Dunne quickly shakes it off. He scoops Rusev up when Rusev recovers enough to charge at him and lands the Bitter End, rolling over him for the pin- when Dash scrambles over and breaks it up. So Dunne does the only thing that makes sense as Rusev rolls out of the ring to try to recover- deadlifts Dash up and gives him the sitout flatliner too, immediately pinning him.

He can see Rusev trying to scramble in, but it's too late- the three count is announced, and Pete Dunne finds himself the winner once more as he holds his title in his mouth and stares at the crowd, who is chanting happily for him. He smirks and heads backstage with his head held high as his opponents struggle to regroup behind him.


	144. chapter 144

Drake Maverick's had a busy week. Revealing himself as the new manager for AoP, and his standard 205 Live responsibilities, so he's glad that booking Team Work this week is straight forward enough. He pinches his nose and stares down at the list of matches before him, shrugging. "I reckon this'll do," he sighs before making things official, pinning the list on the wall outside so the wrestlers know what they're doing this evening. He then ducks back into the office to watch the show, make sure that everything runs smoothly.

The night starts off with Bobby Lashley and Jake Strong facing off, neither man backing off even when Jake gets taken down early, Bobby just a little bit bigger and faster than he is. Things even out between them as the match progresses, Strong taking him down and going for his ankle quickly, but Lashley kicks free and fights back, leaving Strong reeling after a few solid strikes to his face, following it up with a spear. The Dominator finishes things off quickly, Lashley pinning him with ease.

Sasha and Tessa square off next, Tessa overwhelming Sasha early on, until Sasha heel hooks her and knocks her down, keeping her down with desperate knees and hands until the referee starts to warn her. Sasha gets up then and wipes her hand over her mouth, swallowing hard, before going up top. She dives and just manages to hit enough of the move that Tessa is left vulnerable for Sasha to force her to her feet and setting her up in the corner, slamming her knees down onto her sternum. Tessa tries to fight back, landing a solid couple of punches to Sasha's body and face, but Sasha shakes it off and lands an elbow that rocks Tessa, sending her back into the turnbuckle. She grips her and slams her backwards before moving to twist in the Banks Statement, Tessa flailing and struggling to get to the ropes, just for Sasha to grip her and pull her back into the middle of the ring, planting her feet and digging back as best as she can on the submission until she feels Tessa tap desperately. Dropping the hold, she lifts her hands in victory and smiles as the crowd cheers in support of her win.

The team of Akira Tozawa and Tanahashi are successful in triple tag action, winning against the teams of Eli Drake and Roderick Strong, and Sheamus and Scott Dawson. Sumie Sakai defeats Charlotte, and Buddy Murphy makes fast work of Dash Wilder with a frenzy of rough offense.

Seth Rollins is a little battered, his arm throbbing in time with his heart beat when he comes out for a handicapped match. He suspects Stephanie had something to do with this match being made, but there's no way to prove it so he stands quietly and watches as Cesaro and Trent come to the ring. Cesaro, still remembering their non-stop feud the year prior over the tag titles, seems eager to get back to it, but Trent seems hesitant to go along with anything Cesaro suggests, an uncomfortable look on his face. Seth exhales hard, watching them argue as the bell rings, and he decides to fight as hard as he can from the start, not letting them get any upperhand on him while he's already hurting. He elbows Cesaro hard in the face, gripping Trent by the back of the head and tossing him out of the ring so he can focus on his fellow WWE competitor. They quickly fall into a brutal brawl, neither man quite getting the upperhand on the other, no matter how many punches, elbows and knees they exchange.

Seth grimaces as Cesaro uppercuts him, meeting him with a solid knee to the face when Cesaro lunges at him. Seth tries to dodge but Cesaro moves quickly, grabbing him and throwing him into the ropes, clotheslining him over. Seth hits the ground hard and just gets to his feet as Cesaro runs the ropes and dives over the top, taking him out. Seth gasps and stares up at the lights as Cesaro punches him a few times before grabbing the back of his skull and tossing him back inside. He rolls in and forcefully tags in Trent, yelling at him when he just stands still in the corner while Cesaro attacks Seth with kicks and knees. "Useless!" Cesaro yells, pushing past Trent to get out of the ring when the referee lectures him, clearly missing having Sheamus to back up his more... creative solutions to matches like these.

Trent gets some minor offense in, but Seth recovers and grips him around the waist, slamming him backwards before twisting around into a cover, not exactly expecting a win but needing a gauge to see how Cesaro would react. Cesaro, angry, slams into the ring and kicks Seth to break it up before grabbing Trent and dragging him to the corner, tagging himself back in. He then lays into Seth with uppercuts, dizzying spins, and suplexes that leaves Seth wavering and unable to recover. The Neutralizer finishes things off really quickly, Seth unable to piece together the energy to kick out in time, Cesaro getting into Trent's face as he stares him down as soon as the pin is counted. "This is _my_ win," he tells the man. _"My_ point. _You_ deserve exactly what you're getting from this night, which is _nothing._ " Trent's jaw works as he glowers back as Cesaro, eyes flashing angrily as the man leaves the ring without looking back, walking up the ramp.

Keith Lee defeats XO Lishus, followed by a tag match where Rich Swann gets the pin on Chuck Taylor while Brian Cage and Dean Ambrose brawl ferociously on the outside, distracting the referee and audience from the in-ring happenings. Dakota Kai wins against Natalya, and despite the size difference Adam Cole isn't intimidated and completely takes out Baron Corbin after only a little bit of a struggle at the start before he gets into the groove of the match.

Jay White. Shane Taylor. To his credit, Kazuchika Okada seems unbothered by these two formidable men waiting for him in the ring as he comes down, swatting balloons at the crowd and looking generally unbothered by everything around him. He has no title, he has no Gedo, all in all, he looks strangely reduced in some fashion as he enters the ring, but when the bell rings and things really get moving, it's clear this isn't true, Okada quickly overwhelming Shane Taylor with an elbow to the face, suplexing him back and quickly moving to meet Jay White with a solid strike to the jaw, fighting back with everything he has even as emotions fail to register on his face. He starts going back and forth, slamming one, elbowing the other, until both are down and he poses in the middle of the ring, a distant look in his dark eyes. Shane recovers first and Okada grips him, manipulating him into position for the tombstone, trying to set up for the Rainmaker lariat, when Jay returns and kicks Okada hard in the face, sending him rebounding against the ropes. As he struggles to recover in the corner, Jay continues to work over Shane Taylor, eventually sending him out of the ring.

He turns back to Okada just to get met with knees to the face, Jay staggering back just to get a kick to the chest. He's still falling backwards when Okada snags his wrist and pulls him closer, their eyes locking. Even Jay is overwhelmed by the depth of Okada's eyes, the lack of emotions there since he'd lost the title, how little he seems to care about things outside of his balloons and his losing streak, almost seeming obsessed with how far he can fall in his own career. THis night does not help with that, however, as he takes advantage of Jay's distraction and pulls him in, lariating him hard. He still has his wrist, however, and tugs him up for another, and another, and another until Jay can't even stand, his legs wobbly as Okada bends them up for a pin. When the bell rings to declare him victor, he lays there and stares up at the lights, laughing brokenly.

Winning doesn't bring the same flood of adrenaline to Okada that it used to, but he thinks it's somewhat better than drowning in his own doubts and ineptitude in another loss. But still. Nothing feels the same. He stares blankly at the crowd, some booing, most cheering, as the referee lifts his arm in victory.


	145. chapter 145

For the second week in a row, Drake Maverick is in charge of Team Work. He rocks back and forth on his heels, eyeing Akam and Razar. "Now, men, I can't be by your sides this evening because I'm in charge of the show tonight, but you know what to do in your matches." He quirks an eyebrow at them, smirking slightly. "Don't let me down, either of you." Akam slaps Razar across the chest and they leave his office, Drake exhaling as he briskly rubs his hands together and moves to put the card together for the evening.

The first match of the night is little more than a squash match as Matanza defeats Noam Dar within a couple of minutes, the crowd barely having time to settle in before Matanza slams him down, all of his weight slamming down upon Noam's midsection, the man quickly pulling his leg up and shifting so Noam can't get his shoulder up before the three count.

Rusev's never been much of a tag team kind of man. He finds it hard to trust other people who aren't Lana, but Aiden English had worked his way into his life, into Lana's life, and now... He _really_ wants to be tag team champions. So when he learns that he's booked in tag team action for the week's Team Work, he decides to take it as a practice run for his title opportunity with Aiden. He's teaming with Bobby Roode against Pentagon Dark and Daniel Bryan, so he's a little concerned, but not seriously so, Bobby holding his own against Daniel, considering how impassioned he's become since re-signing with WWE and embroiled in this very personal feud with The Miz. Bobby starts to flounder so Rusev tags in, barely blinking when Pentagon Dark tags in. He uses his speed and size to his advantage, overwhelming Pentagon as best as he can with splashes against the turnbuckles, throwing him around the ring and trying to keep him from getting any offense in. He gets angry at some point and fights back but Rusev grabs his mask and slams him down to the mat by it, nearly tearing it clean from his face. Pentagon writhes away and adjusts his mask before kicking up, Rusev avoiding and sending his knee straight down onto Pentagon's chest, grinding down.

Pentagon tries to get to his feet but Rusev kicks him hard in the face, following it up with another, then gripping his arms and rolling him onto his chest before digging his knee into his spine and locking in the accolade. Daniel paces on the apron, yelling support at Pentagon, but as Rusev pulls harder on his arms, arching Pentagon's back up into the even more intense version of his submission, he grits his teeth and waits, hoping for the victory. He notices as Daniel rushes into the ring, finally deciding to assist, Bobby distracting the referee when he gets in too. Soon, both Daniel and Bobby are getting yelled at by the frazzled referee and Rusev yells out in Bulgarian as Pentagon grabs his arm and tries to manipulate it over his knees in an attempt to break it. He's just strong enough to fight back, sweeping Pentagon's legs out from under him and once more setting up for the accolade, Pentagon's screams of pain music to Rusev's ears, a relieved exhale bursting from deep in his lungs as Pentagon taps out. "YAH!" he yells out to the crowd. "Rusev Day!"

With more tag victories under his belt now, he grows more and more certain that, come Sunday, he and Aiden will be tag champions together. It's a warm, pleasant thought that makes him grin almost maniacally as he absorbs the crowd's support.

Tessa defeats Brie Bella, and Akam faces off with Jake Crist, Drake's words from earlier echoing in his mind as he grips at the man, hoisting him up and slamming him around bodily. Jake tries to recover, but there's nothing to be done for it, Jake is floundering as soon as the bell rings, and he soon finds himself sprawled on the mat, unable to sit up. Akam eventually nudges at him with his boot and, getting no response, steps briskly over him and covers him, watching the referee closely as the pin is counted.

Wesley Blake, freshly debuting in NXT to team with Steve Cutler, finds himself in a partnership with Tama Tonga, the two men eyeing each other as Chad Gable and Braun Strowman come to the ring. Neither seem overly pleased. It registers early that Tama Tonga is the only one of them who's been in a team for longer than a few weeks, so it's not a surprise when Braun targets him, but Tama fights free and tags Blake in to his disgust. Braun has the upperhand for awhile before Chad leans as far in as he can while still holding the rope and tags himself in. Braun is clearly angry, but he hesitantly climbs out of the ring, watching as Tama gets back in and quickly dismantles Chad, Cutler watching as Tama pokes at him with his boot, laughing dismissively as he grabs Chad by his hair and tugs him back to their corner, tagging Wesley in once more. He sits back and watches with a sneer as Blake pins Chad to wrap the match up, Tama laughing while Braun glowers at his tag partner, leaving without a look back.

Sasha Banks defeats Kairi Sane and Petey Williams gets the win against Naito, to the surprise of many, including himself.

Aiden English is battered. He's bruised from fighting his way back into Rusev and Lana's good graces, and from fighting some of Smackdown's strongest tag champions to get an opportunity at the tag belts with Rusev. But, he thinks, even as he gets overwhelmed by a relatively fresh Dave Crist, it's worth it. He'd give up all of the points in this cycle if it meant Rusev would at least talk to him again. He lands hard and realizes there's nothing for him to do as he's pinned after Dave hits a Casket Cutter on him, unable to kick out in time. He breathes in and out and hopes that this won't ruin Rusev's faith in him. He looks up tiredly as he's met at the curtain by Rusev and Lana, unreadable looks on their faces. "It's meaningless," Rusev finally tells him. "Your focus is on the tag titles, and that's just as well. Because we will celebrate the most impressive Rusev Day when we're champions together."

"Yes," Lana agrees, her lips twitching up as she brushes a finger over the bruising on Aiden's shoulder. "You both will CRUSH the New Day as easily as if they're as flimsy as those nasty pancakes they're addicted with!"

Aiden nods, his eyes suspiciously bright. "Thank you," he says, trudging up to them. Rusev's hand is warm when he it rests between his shoulder blades, guiding him down the hall, helping him to stay on his feet even when each step aches.

Killshot and Gran Metalik compete next, the match fairly even as they go back and forth, high flying risktaking growing in intensity with each move hit against the other. Killshot eventually gets the win after flying off of the top ropes and taking Gran Metalik out with a splash that winds him so thoroughly that he can't piece together the energy to kick out any longer.

Dolph Ziggler wins against Kassius Ohno, and Nikki Bella teams with Alexa Bliss reluctantly, getting a win against Bayley and Naomi. She then ignores Alexa's attempts at celebrating the win with her and hugs Naomi tightly, the two women relatively friendly after so much time together spent filming Total Divas. Steve Cutler continues the Forgotten Sons' winning ways by claiming another successful pin in a triple threat match against Eli Drake and Bhupinder Singh.

Not to be outdone, Razar all but ignores his tag partner in Kazarian and lunges forward, quickly running roughshod through whoever's in his way- which, for tonight, happens to be Raju and Jay Lethal. Both men take their turns fight back against him and, although Kazarian wants in, Razar isn't interested in the slightest. He fights the entire match, all but laughing in Rohit Raju's face when he tags in, ignoring Kaz's yells and aggravated pacing on the other side of the ring. He slams Raju into the turnbuckle pads, then hoists him again and lands a sitout powerbomb, pinning him. Kaz grits his teeth, bored and wanting this to be over, diving into the ring to catch Jay before he can pull the save, tackling Jay back into the ropes and holding him back as Razar pins Raju, eyes glinting evilly as he pushes Raju away and stands up, raising his arms in success, Kaz already half way up the ramp as he leaves all of this behind, shaking his head in frustration as he turns back to stare at Razar, clearly unhappy with all of it.

In the main event of the evening, R-Truth raps his way down to the ring, dancing around while his tag partners, Drew McIntyre and Sami Callihan, hesitantly join him, neither looking thrilled at having to work alongside him. Yano and Cedric Alexander are in the ring, milling around and waiting, when the lights shift- turn light and purple, the crowd reacting loudly as Velveteen Dream slowly glides down the ramp, looking sultry and intense as he examines the crowd, his opponents, his partners. He seems bored with it all, adjusting his clothes as he works his way over the apron, hovering between the ropes and slowly peeling his shirt off before throwing it at R-Truth, who looks confused and picks it up. "Is this for me?"

As he looks around at Drew and Sami, wondering their opinion on it, Dream dropkicks him and the other four men leave the ring as Dream knees Truth in the back before gripping his jaw and tugging his head back, the submission move this early in the match more of a mindgame than any actual attempt to get him to give up. Truth grits his teeth, angry and embarassed, struggling to his feet and elbowing Dream hard in the ribs, sending him up and over. Dream writhes away as Truth hits him with a knee, getting him back up to his feet before sending him into the ropes, sending him to the mat with a shouldercheck. Dream eventually fights free and tags out, letting Yano in, and Drew quickly enters the ring, overpowering first Yano and then Cedric while Dream leans against the ropes, bored and annoyed at getting stuck in yet _another_ multi-man match. Sami Callihan tags in and Dream reaches in, slapping Cedric's back and rushing into the ring, catching up on as much time lost as he can, ducking Sami's offense and hitting him with a dropkick that sends him down. Dream nods and hoists him back up, positioning him for the Death Valley Driver, just to get kneed in the face.

He staggers and drops Sami awkwardly, gripping his mouth, when Sami recovers enough to grab him and hoist him up for a deadlift saito suplex. Dream kicks out at 2 and gasps, rolling away and trying to catch his breath, when Truth gets back in and Dream struggles to get up, unable to save himself in time. He lays there and takes the leg drop, Truth shifting to pin him- just for Dream to kick out right at 2. He struggles to his feet and grabs Truth, this time hitting the Death Valley Driver. He looks suspiciously from left to right, not trusting any of the four men on either side, before struggling to the top rope, panting for breath. Diving down, he elbows Truth right in the chest and pins him, eyes closed as he focuses on the referee's hand, counting each slap against the mat in his mind. The three is a relief, the bell ringing and Dream being announced the victor is even more of one as he tiredly rolls out of the ring and struggles to stay on his feet long enough to make his way up the ramp, eyes gleaming as he takes in that he has finally made it into the cycle officially with a point to his name. He stretches his arms out and poses on the ramp, smirking down at opponent and partner alike before disappearing backstage.


	146. chapter 146

Baron Corbin stands with his hands behind his back, quirking an eyebrow as he looks out of the office door, peering down the hall at the various wrestlers milling around. Raw, Smackdown, 205 Live, NXT people milling around with Impact, ROH, NJPW, and Lucha Underground competitors. He runs a hand over his head and exhales, disappearing back inside. It's kind of impressive when one thinks about it, all of these companies working together to promote wrestling. He exhales and sits down to book the card for the night, a little proud that Stephanie had chose him to lead the show this week.

The first match of the night pits Mustafa Ali against Ortiz and, despite Ortiz' strength and raw power, Mustafa has a lot to prove after being taken off of the shelf to recover and this encourages him to fight harder, work just a little bit faster, and Ortiz can't keep up with him after only a few minutes, eating the loss after Mustafa avoids his attempts to slam him and dashes up the turnbuckles to dive onto him with a 360, pinning him before Ortiz can catch his breath.

Randy Orton walks out the victor in a triple threat match against Bobby Roode and The Miz, and Backy continues to ride a wave of momentum partnering with Shayna against Charlotte and Natalya, eventually making Natalya tap out to the Disarmer after Shayna takes Charlotte out on the apron, keeping her from pulling the save.

Everything comes to a slow stop when Danny Burch, Kazarian and Pentagon Jr finds themselves on one side of the ring with Rusev, Oney Lorcan and Scorpio Sky on the other, the referee waiting to ring the bell to start the match. The tag partners exchange glances with each other, then with their current partners, Danny and Kaz, Lorcan and Sky all very hesitant as the match begins, allowing Rusev and Pentagon to start things off. The next few minutes are spent with offense going back and forth between Rusev and Pentagon, the two men avoiding each other's submissions and attempt at offense, before Rusev escapes and tags in Lorcan, Pentagon barely blinking as he begins to fight him without losing a beat. It's all going satisfactorly until Pentagon moves for a tag, slapping Burch's shoulder, Lorcan shifting uncomfortably. They shake hands briskly before beginning to wrestle. Lorcan gets the upperhand quickly, just for Burch to fight free and sweep Lorcan's feet out from under him, working a few punches in on him before suplexing him back.

Lorcan ends up close to his corner and Scorpio tags in, landing solidly on his feet while Lorcan glowers at him, Burch staring on impassively before moving to tag Kaz in. Kaz grimaces but enters, shrugging at Sky. The two SCU members circle each other before Kaz turns sharply and tags Burch in roughly, getting out of the ring and smirking as Burch glares down at him. This seems to fuel the British wrestler as he turns sharply and draws Sky in, Sky struggling and failing to get the upperhand as Burch gets a better hold on him and lands the London Bridge DDT on him, moving into a pin while all team mates on the apron wait anxiously for a reason to enter- Sky's team stays in place, so Burch's does as well, until the three pin is counted in Burch's favor.

The team of Buddy Murphy and Santana ends up victorious against Aiden English and Lars Sullivan, followed by Ronda Rousey making somewhat quick work of Nikki and Brie Bella while her partner, Alisha Edwards, watches on from the apron, agape at the quick, effective offense by the woman's champion. Afterwards, Big E takes his time in a triple threat match, chewing on pancakes, rotating his hips, doing all he can to annoy Fenix while AJ Styles tries to keep to some sort of a gameplan, but eventually even he gives up and stretches out over the turnbuckles to watch, conceding the victory to Big E after he suplexes Fenix nearly across the ring and pins him.

After using every trick in the book to avoid taking any real offense, Maryse walks out successful in a triple threat match against Sumie Sakai and Kobra Moon, scrambling to pin the Lucha Underground competitor after Sumie all but knocks her out with a Uranage Suplex, just for Maryse to grab her by the hair and, ignoring the referee's warnings, tosses her out of the ring roughly before dashing to make the pin, beaming as she's declared the winner. She laughs mockingly, this being her last official appearance for awhile as she returns home to mother Monroe Skye full time once more.

Jeremiah Snake and Brian Cage defeat Jack Gallagher and Daga, followed by Finn Balor eaking out a win against EVIL. Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre only just work together enough to defeat Chad Gable and Akam, just for Cien Almas to take Dolph Ziggler out after a lengthy back and forth while Zelina Vega watches confidently from the outside.

Christopher Daniels finds himself partnering with Dragon Azteca Jr against Rezar and Austin Aries, the four men watching each other warily as Drake Maverick paces outside, offering advice to Rezar as Aries looks down at him with a smirk. "Hey, you look familiar," he mocks him, and Drake rolls his eyes, keeping his focus on his client. Rezar's power is overwhelming, even without Drake's advice, and Daniels is glad Azteca starts off against him, able to just stand back and watch, only interceding when necessary to keep the match going. Rezar snarls and steps back, tagging in Aries. Christopher shrugs and leans out as Azteca struggles over, tagging out. Daniels smirks at his old former TNA colleague and rolls his neck, shrugging. They lock up in the middle of the ring and Daniels fights back against the belt collector, feeling Aries smirk against his shoulder.

It only serves to piss him off more and he pushes Aries off against the ropes, snagging him in a headlock before sweeping his legs out from under him and locking in a Koji Clutch, wrenching back on his neck as much as he can while Aries tries to roll free, struggling towards the ropes. Daniels breathes heavily and then releases it when Aries hits the ropes, meeting him with a solid kick to the back before he can get to his feet, pulling him to his feet to try to piece together some offense to lead into a potential end to the match, when Aries gets the upperhand and sweeps him up into a brainbuster, Daniels rolling away and writhing in agony as Aries kicks him hard in the side, re-positioning him and locking in the Last Chancery. Daniels struggles and squirms, digging his fingers in to make more space between his throat and Aries' fingers, failing.

He's close to blacking out when Azteca makes his way in and kicks Daniels off, Rezar lumbering in and throwing Azteca out before going after him. Daniels is back on his feet, watching them for a second before turning to continue fighting Aries, just to take a boot hard to the face. He staggers and feels Austin hook an arm under his leg, slamming him backwards and scrambling over to the turnbuckle post. He climbs and watches Daniels for a minute before diving, taking a big chance on the possibility of this move. He lands roughly, winding Christopher and gripping his leg, arching it up and pinning him as Rezar pauses from brutalizing Azteca on the outside, not looking impressed but choosing to leave it behind as Drake intercedes and guides him to the back to let Aries have this.

Aries laughs and holds one of his many belts up, thinking about how great it feels to be on WWE ground once more, the glow of his belts reflecting off of his skin, one step closer to being the first non-WWE victor in a cycle. He throws his head back and takes in the light, enjoying the warmth. "I can't wait to see their faces," he announces, holding his arms out and smirking as some of the crowd cheers, and some boos him. He absorbs every second of it gleefully. _They_ can't stop him now.


	147. chapter 147

William Regal tilts his head. Takes in the building as he walks down the hall. He's so used to NXT business, the small, intimate halls and his relatively simple office that this is almost overwhelming to him. But he ignores the foreboding and continues on his way, nodding at the wrestlers he passes along the way. Booking the matches for the evening helps to calm his unease, not used to being in control of such a large venture. "Although," he mumbles, adjusting his clothes in the mirror before going out to place the card for the wrestlers to peruse, "this is better than banging my head against the bloody wall investigating who attacked Aleister Black for a moment longer."

The first match is one Regal is familiar with, Asuka vs Ember. Ember fights with all of the fire and energy she ever has, but Asuka is on another level between reuniting with Miz for the second season of Mixed Match Challenge and her growing friendship with Naomi and defeats her yet again with the Asuka Lock. Ember grits her teeth, grips her arm and struggles to her feet, blinking when Asuka bows to her out of respect. She exhales and bows as well, trying to smile through the pain and disappointment.

TJP allows his theme music to carry him as he makes his way to the ring, enjoying the remixed version of it that he was recently permitted to start using. He dabs and smirks as the crowd boos it, floating over the ropes and landing in the ring, his hoodie covering his face as he straightens up and hops the turnbuckle post, looking out at the crowd. He sits on the top, stoic and calm as Pentagon Jr makes his way to the ring. From the moment the bell rings, TJ is on the move, careful not to leave his arm vulnerable to the man. They move quickly, each struggling to get the upperhand, TJ working to lock in leg bars, twisting up to grab at Pentagon's neck, twisting him around as much as he can to make him submit, be it vocally or by passing out, and Pentagon gets his feet back under him, quickly kicking TJ down and sweeping him up, slamming him into the turnbuckle posts.

TJ recovers, lifts up and kicks him hard in the face when he tries to get him, TJ quickly squirming away and sweeping Pentagon's legs out from under him, once more moving for a swing submission, putting as much pressure on Pentagon's legs and arms as he can while keeping him hovering a few feet off of the ground. He's about to let him go when Pentagon twists free, slinks behind TJ and forces him upright, using the suddenness of his movements to lift TJ into a belly-to-back face slam, flipping him over and covering him. It's between one breath and the next that TJ kicks out, Pentagon immediately grabbing his arm and twisting it, pressing it against his knees. "NO!" TJ yells, writhing around, trying to get free, but it doesn't stop Pentagon from snapping his arm back.

TJ rolls away immediately, holding his injured arm close to his body, struggling to his feet before the referee can decide to end the match. He's sweaty and pale and very protective of his arm, so Pentagon gets a little overconfident when he goes after him, allowing TJ to rock him immediately with a dropkick, kipping back up and grabbing him by the legs, biting through the pain stabbing up his arm to lock in the clutch on Pentagon, taking advantage of the damage he's already caused to push back on his shoulders and tweak his knees even worse, Pentagon struggling and fighting to make it to the ropes. TJ pulls him back, tries to hold onto the move but ultimately lets it go. Before Pentagon can recover, he pulls him down and hits the Detonation Kick, dazing Pentagon and returning to the Clutch, twisting and pulling, putting as much pressure on his opponent as he can until Pentagon taps out desperately, the referee calling for the bell and forcing an exhausted, frozen TJ to let the hold go. His arm is throbbing and he feels close to throwing up, sweaty and trembling, but he's won.

It's all that matters to him as the referee lifts his uninjured arm to mark his victory.

Finding himself in another tag team match with Jaxson Ryker against Bully Ray and Trent, Austin Aries gets a second point in a row after Jaxson takes out Bully and allows Aries to get the win against Trent with the Last Chancery. He laughs and leans against the ropes, observing the crowd and imagining the McMahons' faces if he _should_ win everything in this cycle and get to use their own opportunity to compete for _their_ world title and add something _else_ to his long list of accolades.

Rezar defeats Silas Young, and Bayley wins in a triple threat match against Nia Jax and Charlotte. Despite lingering suspicions, the tag team of AJ Style and Shinsuke Nakamura get the win against Eli Drake and King, Shinsuke hitting the Kinsasha on King and easily pinning him. Akam makes quick work of Zack Sabre Jr, and Sami Callihan all but destroys Ibushi, leaving him unable to even come close to kicking out. Bobby Roode gets the winning pin while tagging with Dave Crist against Marty the Moth and Cedric Alexander, followed by Kenny King defeating Jake Crist.

During a triple threat match, Aliyah works with Lacey Evans against Faby Apache, but just when it looks like Lacey is going to win after a quick Woman's Rights, Aliyah grabs Lacey and tosses her out of the ring, using her momentary shock and confusion to dash over and pin Faby, quickly getting up and running through the crowd to avoid Lacey's anger and disgust as she stands at the ropes and yells out at her sometime tag partner. Aliyah laughs at her, relieved to have a point to her name now to maybe get further in the cycle.

Chuck Taylor and Chad Gable partner against Fenix and Braun Strowman and he and Chad work together to attempt to take Braun out, just for Fenix to tag himself in when he grows exasperated with watching his tag partner relentlessly attacking both of them. Braun tenses and stands over him warningly before getting out of the ring, and... leaving Fenix behind to deal with Chad and Chuck all by himself. He gapes in shock as Braun walks up the ramp and leaves with no warning, shaking his head in confusion. As bad as Chad and Chuck may feel for him, they want to win too so they tag back and forth, beating him down steadily. Chuck eventually gets the win, Chad waving him on when he hesitates after hitting a sit-out piledriver. Once the bell rings and it's all done, Chuck helps Fenix up and Chad comes in, dusting him off. "You alright, man?"

"Si," Fenix says, nodding at them. "Gracias." He's clearly not happy but he's a good sport about it all, leaving with no complaints or grousing, allowing them their moment to celebrate, especially Chuck.

The main event sees Seth Rollins facing off with Cesaro, the two men slowly circling each other. Both know the other very well, which makes this more a contest of stamina and quick thinking, careful moves to not misstep and risk all of the advantage they each have. Seth lands a strike, Cesaro manages an elbow, they separate and then resume this slow, cautious dance. As they slowly pick up speed, the crowd gets more into it, louder and alternating their support between the two competitors. Seth kicks Cesaro hard in the side, and eats a forearm for his trouble, hoisting Cesaro up to slam him right into the turnbuckle pads. Cesaro fights free, however, and twists in time to hit another uppercut, Seth stumbling back. Cesaro sweeps his legs out from under him and hoists him up, spinning him around as the crowd loses their ever loving mind at the old, familiar move.

By the time Cesaro releases Seth, he's dizzy, feeling a ilttle ill. It's a struggle to get back into the fight, but he manages it, landing an almost off-balanced ripcord knee while Cesaro is straining to get his own footing back fully, Cesaro hitting the ground hard and laying there, staring up at the lights. Seth swallows hard and pulls Cesaro to his feet, trying to go for another bucklebomb, when Cesaro lands a bicycle kick and lifts him for Swiss Death, clocking him just under the jaw and watching with some satisfaction as he hits the mat in a heap. How exactly Seth kicks out, Cesaro will never know, but that's exactly what happens, so Cesaro forces him to his feet once more, trying for the Neutralizer, when Seth knees him hard in the side of the face.

Cesaro gasps, choking on thin air as Seth knees him again and again, finally breaking free and landing another kick to the side of Cesaro that causes him to drop to the mat, struggling for breath, desperate for a chance to succeed- to defeat Seth on his own, with no Sheamus, no Dean, just the two of them struggling for a chance in this cycle, to prove once and for all who's the better man. The feeling of Seth's boot heel against his face, and then everything going dark as he hits the mat apron, tells him all he needs to know. Seth is more focused, he's more confident, he's quicker as finishing things like this match that's already probably gone on a little too long for his liking.

The curbstomp is almost peaceful, as he crashes to the mat and falls unconscious just long enoughf or Seth to pin him, claim the victory for himself. "I win," Seth tells him quickly, a pleased expression spreading over his face as he marvels at that.

"Yes, you do," Cesaro chokes out and Seth steps aside, not surprised to see Sheamus make his way to the ring to help Cesaro.

Careful to avoid him, Seth makes his way slowly up the ramp, sore, just to be met by Dean. Still unsure where things between them remain, he waits and watches his brother quietly, relieved when Dean thumps their fists together before turning to see Seth through to the backstage area, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at Cesaro and Sheamus in the ring before following Seth back.


	148. chapter 148

Baron Corbin sighs as he once more finds himself at the arena for the week's Team Work. He glowers over his shoulder as he puts up the card for the week, dusting his hands off as he returns to his office, eager to keep to himself while the show carries on.

The first match of the night is a ten man, pitting Bobby Lashley, Daga, Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins and Mark Briscoe against Matt Jackson, Lio Rush, Pentagon Jr, Kenny King and Nick Miller. Seth nor Drew seem very happy to be on the same team, but they barely interact through out, Lashley staying between them as needed. Likewise, Lio clearly hates being on the opposing team against Bobby, Drew and Mark going out of their way to make sure whenever Lio's in the ring, they tag Bobby in. Lashley refuses to lay hands on him, however, stepping back and waiting while Lio gets up and tags out, Kenny King and Nick Miller both gritting their teeth when they find themselves in the ring against Bobby.

The third time this happens, Daga angrily tags in and rushes Lio, suplexing him obnoxiously around the ring and barely letting him catch his breath before Bobby comes in, zeroing in on Daga and freeing Lio from his grasp before sideslamming him down. Lio struggles over to the ropes and dives onto him, pinning Daga. Lashley gives everyone pause in interfering so Lio gets the win and Bobby shrugs with a grin, ignoring his partners' complaining as he eases out of the ring and leaves, Lio rushing to join him.

Brian Kendrick enters the ring, a stoic look on his face as he walks in circles around the ring and waits for his opponent, Ortiz looking unimpressed as he walks the entrance ramp, the two of them staring each other down. Ortiz immediately lunges at Brian as soon as the bell rings, Brian careful to avoid as much as he can, and fighting back with everything he has every time he gets knocked down. Ortiz attempts to slam him over but Kendrick fights free, slams him into the turnbuckle and shoulderchecks him when he stumbles out. He kicks him between the shoulders when he tries to get up, and then locks in the Captain's hook, rearing back and digging his shoes into the mat to tweak the man's neck as much as he can, keeping him from reaching the ropes and wrenching back wildly until Ortiz finally gives up and taps, in too much pain to hold on. Brian smirks as he eventually releases the hold and stretches his arms out, absorbing the win with a smug look on his face.

Kobra Moon defeats Tessa Blanchard, and Eli Isom loses to Shane Thorne. Dolph Ziggler eakes out a win against Brian Cage, and Nikki Bella defeats Sumie Sakai. Jeremiah Snake gets the winning pin in a six man match, and Ember Moon wins against Kairi Sane. Miz wins in a tag team match with Konnor against Finn Balor and Santana, and Kiera defeats Naomi in a triple threat after Allie's taken out by the rearview. Killer Kross tags with Jay Lethal to a win against Jay Briscoe and Moose. Brie Bella succeeds in a match versus Asuka and Natalya.

Dean Ambrose teams with Matanza against Roman Reigns and Jake Strong and, although Roman seems reluctant at first to fight Dean, but Dean holds no such reservations, clearly still struggling to prove something to himself. Matanza and Jake fight for awhile, Jake easily overwhelmed by the Cuetro brother, but when Roman tags in, Dean leans in heavily and tags himself in, Matanza standing still for a minute before getting behind the ropes tensely. Dean takes advantage of Roman's hesitance and lands a few solid blows before Jake grabs at Dean, taken off of the apron. Roman lunges at him and Dean drops, Roman hitting the ropes and rebounding roughly. Dean's immediately on top of him, pummeling him. He gets his legs up and forces Dean off, rolling over and standing up. As he lunges forward, landing a superman punch on Dean's jaw, Dean rocks backwards and struggles to breathe in and out.

They take a minute to regroup, Roman furrowing his brows at Dean, confused by his change in attitude, and tries again to just have a regular match but Dean immediately takes it further, fighting dirty until he takes Roman down again, hoisting him up and elbowing him roughly. Roman coughs and struggles to free himself but this time he fails, Dean dropping him back to the mat and moving for the pin. He gets a two before Roman kicks out again and Dean is immediately on the offense again, dragging him to his feet and landing a lariat, Roman stumbling back. Dean then grabs him again and locks his arms into position for the Dirty Deeds, the crowd going insane as he hits it, forcing his forearm against Roman's face as he pins him. The crowd's explodes in excitement as Dean gets the win, stumbling to his feet and lifting his arm in success as he looks down at Roman. "I told you. I could be Universal Champion."

He rolls out of the ring and walks up the ramp without looking back.

Becky Lynch wins against Mickie James after tossing Nia Jax out of the ring in a triple threat match, and Punishment Martinez is victorious while competing against Nick Jackson and Silas Young.

The main event puts Sheamus against Tommaso Ciampa, Ciampa ignoring him pointedly as he stares at his title belt, kissing it and reluctantly handing it over to the referee to put it safely by the timekeeper. He then turns and stares the man down, his lip curling up derisively. They wait for the bell to ring and immediately Ciampa rolls out of the ring and walks slowly around, making faces at the crowd before he realizes Sheamus is right behind him, scrambling into the ring and stomping down on where his head is as Sheamus tries to follow him inside. Sheamus rolls back and kicks Ciampa in the leg, getting to his feet and grabbing Ciampa, hoisting him up to slam him across his knee.

Ciampa gasps and writhes around, grabbing the ropes and pulling himself up just to be met by Sheamus' boot, hitting the mat hard. Sheamus moves for the pin but Ciampa rolls out again, landing hard outside of the ring and struggling to recover as he leans against the steel steps. Sheamus rolls out after him and Ciampa stumbles away, breathing roughly as he presses a hand to his face. He turns sharply and catches Sheamus with a harsh elbow, followed by a punch that rocks him back. While Sheamus blinks through the daze, Ciampa returns to the ring and motions impatiently at the ref to start counting. He only makes it to three, though, before Sheamus returns to the ring and Ciampa meets him, kneeing him in the head before he can get to his feet. Forcing him up, Ciampa braces and lifts him up for the Project Ciampa, dropping him down brutally. He moves quickly and hooks Sheamus' leg in a pin, listening as the referee counts out the three count, breathing a little easier once the bell rings and the match is over.

He rolls out of the ring and sits for a few moments on the apron before forcing himself up and rounding the ring, impatiently grabbing his belt from the timekeeper. Kissing it, he stands on the ramp and waits with his teeth gritted as the referee lifts his arm in victory. Ciampa smirks and turns his gaze from the crowd to the belt, clearly enamored with it as he turns to leave.


	149. chapter 149

Baron Corbin looks tense, distinctly unhappy as he walks through the halls, quickly putting up the card for the evening before disappearing back into his office, not interested in dealing with the group of wrestlers lurking around the back. Due to all of the events the last week, there's a ridiculous amount of over seventy wrestlers eager for an opportunity to prove themselves against wrestlers they normally don't get to compete against or to get points for the cycle.

The night starts off with Billie Kay riding her momentum from Australia enough to wrestle Lacey Evans, wavering after a few harsh exchanges with the woman and dodging aside from a Woman's Right and taking her down with a big boot, Lacey struggling but unable to get the strength together to kick out in time.

Xavier Woods finds himself in the ring against NJPW's Gedo and he tilts his head, uncertain how to approach this. Gedo begins laying into him, taking his frustrations over the Okada situation out on him, but eventually Xavier gets the upperhand and goes to the top rope, splashing down upon him. Gedo, however, recovers and rocks Xavier with a hard right hand before catching him in a chokehold. Xavier tries to get out of it but Gedo sweeps his feet out from under him and then geos up, splashing down upon him and pinning him. As he stands up and stares out over the unhappy crowd, he smirks and stretches his arms out, mocking Okada with the Rainmaker pose, only making the jeers and boos from the crowd grow in volumn.

Jay White continues his new associate's winning ways by defeating Konnor. In the next match, Bayley finds herself watching on helplessly as her six person tag partners Brie and Nikki Bella double team Ronda, even succeeds in taking out Asuka when their partner in Su Yung seems disinterested in helping either of them out. Bayley tries to help just to get taken out herself, Brie holding her up and forcing her to watch as Nikki gets Ronda up in the Rack Attack #2 and pins her, Asuka dropping down from where she was trying to crawl up onto the apron to help. Meanwhile Su laughs maddeningly as she leaves the ringside area, Brie pushing Bayley away and going to join Nikki in celebrating the victory.

In tag action, Lashley and Christopher Daniels are pitted against Cheeseburger and Son of Havoc, Daniels content just to stay on the apron and watch Lashley make quick work, getting a pin on Cheeseburger after downing Havoc with a sharp lariat that sends him clean off of the apron. Jaxson Ryker defeats Shelton Benjamin, and Lance Archer gets the winning pin against Curtis Axel as their partners- Buddy Murphy and Brian Cage- watch on from the apron. HHH finds himself in his second match of the week, partnering up with Davey Boy Smith Jr and Leon St. Giovanni against Marty the Moth, Matt Sydal and Wesley Blake. He's watchful and goes in as needed, helping his partners against the three other men when things seem unfair, clapping when Davey Boy Jr gets the winning pin against Matt Sydal.

La Parka defeats El Bunny, and John Cena gets the win against Paul London. R-Truth, Jushin Thunder Liger and Johnny Gargano partner against Kevin Owens, Cody, and Finn Balor. After Truth confuses everyone, especially Cody- something about not recognizing him without facepaint on- and Liger leaves all in awe of what he's still capable of, Finn just seeming really happy to compete against him, Gargano tags in and brawls with Finn, just for Owens to tag himself in. He tries to pop up powerbomb Gargano but Johnny wiggles free and hits him with the superkick before locking in the Gargano Escape and wrenching back as Owens struggles to get to the bottom rope, Gargano releasing it, dragging Owens back a few feet and reapplying it. Kevin yells out in pain, struggling to writhe away and failing. Finally he taps out and Johnny releases the hold, rolling away to lift his arms in victory while Owens rolls out and collapses out of the ring to the mat below.

Ibushi defeats Frankie Kazarian, and Tanga Loa wins against Killer Kross. The team of Tama Tonga and Jimmy Uso win against Taguchi and Marty Scurll. Zack Sabre Jr wrestles a very distracted Kalisto, who reacts poorly whenever he gets just a little too close to Kalisto's mask, leaving himself vulnerable for a loss to the Tiger Suplex. Dean Ambrose, twitchy and angry, makes quick work of Angry Clown before making his way backstage, eyes anxiously skittering left to right before he disappears from sight.

Jeff Cobb and Steve Cutter defeat Fenix and Flip Gordon, and Carmella wins in a triple threat match against Peyton Royce and Naomi after distracting Naomi with a seven second dance party, allowing Peyton to dropkick Naomi clean out of the ring and leaving herself open to getting trapped in the Cone of Silence, having no choice but to tap or pass out right then, right there.

Lars Sullivan makes quick work of Bo Dallas, and Kofi Kingston teams up with Kenny Omega to defeat AJ Styles and Naito. Chris Sabin wins against ACH.

Pentagon Jr finds himself partnering up with Daniel Bryan and Shane Helms against Shaheem Ali, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre. Drew and Seth spend the entire match glowering at each other, only tagging in and out as needed, Shaheem unable to keep his team together. It all goes from bad to worse when Drew smirks over at Seth and asks, "Hey, where's your brothers at? Huh? All alone, Seth?"

Shaheem watches on, jaw dropped, as Seth's jaw works, the architect slowly losing control of his emotiosn and diving into the ring, hitting Drew again and again until Shaheem and the referee work together to separate the two men, the referee warning them while Shaheem begs for them to hold on until the match ends. Once they angrily get back onto the apron, Shaheem turns just to be met by a Shining Wizard, Shane Helms then chokeslamming him to the mat. He thinks maybe, hopefully, Seth and Drew will come in, break the pin up, but no, they've dropped to the floor and are arguing viciously, just shy of exchanging blows again, and so the match goes to Shane while Shaheem stares up at the lights, disgusted and angry and in pain. Meanwhile, Seth and Drew continue to bitch at each other on the outside, not even seeming to notice that the match is over.

Shaheem groans and rolls out of the ring, walking up slowly by himself, leaving them to continue ignoring everything else around them.

In the main event, Roman Reigns finds himself pitted against Akira Tozawa, but first, he has to get Seth's attention, who is still at ringside, yelling himself hoarse against the very smug Drew, who laughs in their faces as Roman grips Seth's vest and drags him backwards. "He's not worth it!" he tells Seth, pushing him back as the referee lectures Drew, who holds his hands up and finally takes his leave. "Go backstage," he says, patting Seth on his chest. "I'll wrap up the night and we can get out of here."

"Dean-" Seth mumbles.

"I know. Trust me, I know. Just go, we'll figure it out later." Roman inclines his head as Seth glumly takes his leave, allowing the champion to turn his attention to Tozawa. The man's not bad, Roman is bigger and stronger, but Akira makes up for it in speed and energy, some of which catches Roman off guard and even leaves him rocked a time or two. But in the end, all it takes is a couple of superman punches, a correctly aimed spear, and Tozawa is down for the count, which allows Roman to go backstage, try to find Dean alongside Seth.


	150. chapter 150

Riding the wave of the lead into Smackdown episode 1000, Paige is thrilled to get to oversee the latest episode of Team Work, her teeth flashing as she smiles at the various men and women wandering the halls. She's rocking back and forth on her heels, arms crossed behind her back, when Nikki approaches her. "Hey, can I have a minute of your time?" she wonders. "I have something to ask you."

Paige blinks a couple of times, and then nods. "Of course, come on." They duck into Paige's office to discuss business, Paige happy to have the woman on a show she's in charge of for once. Nikki's request is an easy acceptance by Paige and Nikki shakes her hand, thanking her, before taking her leave to prepare for the show and allow Paige to do the same.

The first match is a six man tag, the team of Ricochet, Kenny Omega and Finn Balor picking up the win against Petey Williams, Konnan and Rich Swann. Eddie Edwards, feeding off of his own mental instabilities, takes out Nick Jackson early and defeats him after grabbing his leg in the middle of an superkick attempt and uses it to whip him back into a diehard driver, pinning him within a couple blinks of an eye.

Pentagon Dark and Ortiz partner up against AJ Styles and Mil Muertes, Pentagon getting the win after targetting the arm of Mil Muertes that he'd already broken, wrenching back on it and causing the man to thrash around in pain, eventually passing out and causing the referee to end the match. By unluck of the draw, Ronda finds herself partnering with Brie Bella and Charlotte against Bayley, Tessa Blanchard and Ember Moon, Charlotte's best effort not enough to keep her partners from arguing and doing everything to _not_ work together from avoiding tags by leaping off of the apron to plainly ignoring each other. Charlotte tries, she really does, but one person focused properly on the match has no real chance and the loss comes when Ember snags her in an Eclipse, neither Ronda or Brie paying enough attention to stop the pin in time, which brings about a new cycle of petty yelling and arguments between the two, Charlotte gingerly rolling out of the ring and leaving them to it.

Two shocks in a row come out of nowhere and startle all who are watching as Jake Crist defeats Drew McIntyre, who is understandably distracted by Braun Strowman coming out and staring him down from the entrance ramp, allowing the OVE teammate to land a flipping butterfly piledriver. Lashley's loss to Killer Kross is no less startling but more understandable as Killer Kross had taken him out from the moment he'd stepped out into the arena, his focus clearly on ending him quickly. Which he actually does, Lio's voice cutting through everything as he watches on in shock as the pin happens so suddenly that even the referee seems startled by it all, pausing for a long moment before calling for the bell to accept the finish to the match.

Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy find themselves on opposite of the ring once more, partnering up with Homna and Eli Drake. Orton mocks Jeff and distracts him, faking out further attacks against his ear every time they're in the ring together, and it leads to Honma getting the win while Jeff is so off-balanced because of Orton's mindgames, eating an elbow right to the face and getting caught in a clutch, having no choice but to tap out once Orton snags Eli Drake's leg and sends him off of the apron, rocking him wiht a solid punch that leaves Jeff fighting by himself.

Johnny Mundo carries the momentum from his Impact title win on to working alongside Santana, Bobby Roode, Kurt Angle and Kenny King to defeat Dave Crist, Tony Nese, Ricky Mundo, Chad Gable and Moose in ten man action, laughing after taking out Moose with his moonsault and pinning him while their partners work at keeping each other from affecting the pin after all of this time, every wrestler in the match a bit exhausted and annoyed from all of the interference and back and forth.

Makabe and Sami Callihan finds themselves the winner against Keith Lee and Braun Strowman, Braun losing it and getting himself disqualified after taking his frustration out on Keith Lee and then ignoring the referee when he orders him to stop beating down all three men, the final straw being when he hoists them up and slams them all down with so much force that the ring rattles warningly.

Fenix defeats Willie Mack after a logic defying showcase of all of his highflying, risktaking moves, and Austin Aries and Dolph Ziggler eat another loss as Maxima and Matt Jackson work together, winning where Nick Jackson had unfortunately failed earlier, Matt successfully out-doing Dolph in superkicks and knocking him completely loopy to the point that the referee almost ends it right then and there, only hesitantly letting it continue as Dolph fights back to his feet just to take another, then eating the pin.

The main event is Nikki Bella in a rare intergender match against Rohit Raju. She's able to get some offense, and not completely fall apart at the simplest strike from him, but it's clear that she's not having an easy time of it as he slowly builds up into working over her arm, not exactly taking it easy on her but not going all out like he might against someone else. She rebounds off of a strike and elbows him hard across the nose, staggering him backwards. As he hesitates to poke at his tender face, she dropkicks him, and immediately goes for a snapback, trying to pin him. She gets to two before he kicks out, letting out a frustrated cry of annoyance before rolling back to her and grabbing him anew, forcing him to his feet.

She kicks him and sends him down with a leg slam, before moving to lock in an arm bar. He struggles and eventually gets to the ropes, forcing her to break, and she then tries to go for the Rack Attack 2.0 but he recovers enough to grab her as she tries to position for the move, Rohit easing out of it and responding by locking _her_ in the Dragons Wings. As he presses back, and back, she cringes as pain stabs up her back into her neck and shoulders. It scares her, she doesn't wrestle enough to take the pain for granted like so many do.

So she taps, watching as she grips her shoulder, and Rohit celebrates like he's just won the lottery. She sneers, forcing herself to sit up, glowering as he smirks over at her from the top turnbuckle, flipping her hair over her shoulder and leaving. It had been a test of her abilities and she thinks, considering, she did ok. Well enough to handle Ronda in a couple of weeks, at any rate.


	151. chapter 151

Shane McMahon is happy to be home, whole and healthy after a painfully long recovery period. Smiles as he makes his way down the hall for that week's Team Work, nodding and greeting various wrestlers as he passes, sometimes stopping to talk here and there if a wrestler looks like they want or need to discuss something with him. He hums under his breath as he reaches the office and lets himself in, setting right to booking the evening with the list of wrestlers available for the evening.

The first match is a fifteen man battle royal, the ring quickly filling up with Danny Burch, Marty Scurll, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Briscoe, Oney Lorcan, Akam, Tony Nese, Jeff Cobb, Rezar, Sheamus, Killer Kross, Brian Cage, Jake Strong, Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins. Everything's so busy that it's hard to keep track of everything, but slowly things begin to clear out- despite their size and strength, Cage, Seth, Strong, Nese and Scurll all work together to throw Rezar over and out, the large man yelling something before getting up and storming off. Karma strikes quickly however, when Akam grabs the nearest wrestler- who happens to be Seth Rollins- and sends him out as easy as anything. Oney Lorcan gets much the same treatment, bodily dragged away from wild strikes he's exchanging with Mark Briscoe, Danny Burch following not long after.

Sheamus breaks up Akam's streak by booting Tony Nese clear out, just to be eliminated next when Jake Stronger dropkicks him out. Cage loses in a test of strength against Akam, getting pushed right against the ropes and leaning there, struggling to catch his breath when Akam lunges forward in a clothesline, sending him flying into the barricade wall with enough force that the crowd gasps and murmurs in fear as Strong laughs at them all. He rids the ring of Rey Mysterio next, and it becomes a sort of competition between he and Akam as Akam tosses Mark Briscoe out. Stronger responders by blasting Killer Kross out.

Akam is working on trying to weaken Jeff Cobb enough to send him out when Stronger gets bored of waiting and lunges forward when both men have stumbled into position, lariating both of them clean out of the ring. As he mocks and laughs at the both of them from the ropes, Scurll and Ziggler both try to double team him with dropkicks, but he just stands there, smirk twisting into something ugly and bitter. He turns sharply and kicks Ziggler hard, slamming Scurll over. Hoisting them both up, he lifts Ziggler up and bodyslams him down before tossing Scurll out, listening with a smirk as he lands with a heavy thud and doesn't move again. Turning sharply, he stares Ziggler down. "And then there were two," he smirks.

Ziggler feels like he knows how this is going to end already, but he's never really been one to give up, especially against someone like Jake Stronger, so he lunges forward... just to eat Stronger's boot to his face, feeling himself getting lifted up and all but lawn darted out of the ring. As Jake celebrates overhead, Ziggler groans where he'd landed and gasps for air, for the pain to stop. Something, anything.

Wisely keeping Shayna Baszler out of the ring as much as possible, Taya Valkyri and Asuka make fast work of Nia Jax, targetting her legs and knees, working to keep her off of her feet and out of her corner as much as they can. Shayna looks excessively frustrated as she's kept from the ring entirely and it eventually leads to Taya and Asuka's victories as Nia struggles just to get her weight under her properly.

Lashley gets the winning pin in a six man match that pits himself, Roman Reigns and Jay Briscoe against Naito, Cesaro and The Miz, the Moneymaker not able to last against one of those suplexes that he's pretty sure has sent him from one side of the ring clear to the other, his back definitely feeling the affects of it.

After an already rough couple of weeks on Raw between arguing with Seth _and_ Roman, and losing more matches than he cares to remember, Dean Ambrose finds himself on the losing end against Jey Uso after his attempt at Dirty Deeds leads to Jey squirming free and clocking him hard across the face before landing a superkick, and then splashing down upon him from the turnbuckle posts. Although he grits his teeth and shakes hands with his opponent, it's clear that failing again has only added to his inner turmoil as he watches Jey celebrate by himself in the ring as he trudges backwards up the ramp.

The Usos' good luck doesn't last when Taichi defeats Jimmy almost immediately after this, his twin brother frowning. "Shit," he mumbles as the medical staff come to look Jimmy over, make sure everything's going to be ok, slowly helping him to his feet and backstage once they're reassured.

The main event pits Mickie James against Ember Moon and Allie, in a triple threat match. She laughs at them, smug and reassured in her eyes shoes as she stares at them. "Happy with your places on Evolution this coming week, girls?" she taunts them, before an over-exaggerated look of shock crosses her face. "Oh, wait, never mind. You're stuck in some battle royal, and you're not even in my league, much less my company," Mickie says, laughing right in Allie's face. "My mistake!"

Ember ignores her as she continues to stretch, waiting for the clock, but Allie has gotten impatient and, as soon as the bell echoes through the arena, she's on top of Mickie, raining hits across her face and shoulders until Ember has to pull her up to her feet. Mickie's flailing and yelling so Nia has time to enjoy this, before moving to break it up. Once Allie is off of her, Mickie gasps and lays motionless in the corner, wisely watching as they target each other, seemingly forgotten she's in the match at all. Nia's leg and knee is still clearly giving her grief, and Balor... well, there's nothing to get him. So Johnny allows this from one of the kittens but will boot htir noises if something causing him to blare it wihen they finally arrive.

Mickie waits until both are down after they take each other out with similar attempts at kicking high, then gingerly gets back into the mix of things, diving to pin first Ember, then Allie. Both women kick out at 2, though Ember seems a little closer to losing than Allie, and Mickie targets that weakness, kicking her and hitting her with both closed fist and open hand slaps, before hoisting her up and moving in for the Implant DDT when Allie sneaks up from behind and hoists her up for the double chickenwing, bridging into it and leaving Mickie so dazed that she's not even aware she's being pinned until it's too late- until the bell rings. She gapes and struggles free, staring on in shock as the referee lifts Allie's hand in victory. "No!"

Allie laughs, quietly, then leans closer. "Good luck at Evolution, I think you'll need it." She beams at Mickie before leaving the ring, both WWE women unhappy with the results of the match, Ember glaring over at Mickie as she struggles up to her feet, wavering and weak.

"UGH!" Mickie exclaims, hitting her fist against the mat before getting up, eyes blazing as she leaves the ring entirely. "This will not happen at Evolution!" she yells out at Ember, who still looks amused as she presses a hand down where Mickie's fist had left an imprint. "You'll see!"

As she disappears to call Alexa, desperate to discuss their strategy so she can feel a little better after her loss, Ember laughs and shrugs at the crowd before taking her own leave, turning her focus to the first ever women's PPV to be held this Sunday.


	152. chapter 152

A/N: It's NaNoWriMo month so weeklies might become more scattered for a few weeks, but I'll do my best to keep up with them!

Paige sighs. After a successful Evolution PPV, she finds herself filled with energy and determination to see more success for the wrestlers under her, male and female, and not just on Smackdown. She's in charge of Team Work this week so this sensation holds true for this show as well as she sits down to plan this show's matches, eager to see who will continue to collect points to win this cycle.

The first match of the night pits Kassius Ohno against Randy Orton, the two men brawling methodically and brutally, Orton going for slow, steady damage until Kassius lands a few solid strikes of his own, dazing Orton with an elbow. This pisses the viper off and he lunges, moving to hit an RKO out of nowhere, just to receive a solid forearm for his troubles. As Orton rocks back, Kassius rounds on him and strikes quickly, hitting Orton on the mouth, then above his eye, then a perfect jab to his jaw, which downs him immediately. The crowd buzzes, in awe at the realization that someone's just KO'd Randy Orton to a victory. Ohno merely smirks and turns his back, staring impassively at the crowd as he makes his way backstage.

Killer Kross seems unimpressed to find himself partnering up with Mike Kanellis against Rey Mysterio and Jake Strong, neither team getting along that well. Rey and Jake's arguing leaves both Kross and Kanellis too confident, Mike taunting the crowd while Kross ignores Jake and Rey to exchange words with Maria, who keeps taking offense to every slight against her husband. This ultimately leads to Strong suplexing Kross so roughly that he rolls out of the ring and collapses at Maria's feet, Jake repeating the action on Mike, then locking in the ankle lock and wrenching back on it until Mike has no choice but to tap desperately just to say his own leg from serious damage.

Lita defeats Mia Yim, and Moose takes out Shane Taylor. Ember Moon partners with Becky Lynch against Shayna Baszler and Bayley, neither Ember or Bayley overly pleased with this situation. Despite their stark differences with their partners, the groups work together well, both Ember and Bayley agreeable enough that there's no serious disagreement between each team, the women actually working together fairly well- at least until Ember gets the win against Bayley and then both Becky and Shayna seem disgusted but for different reasons, Becky wanting the point for herself, and Shayna angry that Bayley had lost so easily to the Eclipse.

To the shock of all present, Santana defeats Tanahashi, laughing uproariously as he makes his way up the ramp, watching Tanahashi try to come to grips with what just happened. As if doubling down on the surprise factor of tonight's event, Asuka wins against Trish Stratus after avoiding Stratusfaction and bridging it into the Asuka lock, Trish struggling to get to the ropes just for Asuka to drag her back into the middle of the ring, forcing her to tap out.

The following match is a tag pitting The Miz and Dean Ambrose against EC3 and Jay Lethal. Things start off on an even keel, Mike keeping his thoughts to himself while Dean faces off with Jay, the two of them exchanging strikes, simpler wrestling moves as they slowly segue up to more intense, match-ending type maneuvers. Dean's holding his own, getting some of his frustrations out on whoever's unlucky enough to be in the ring against him, when Mike grows tired of waiting, Dean outright ignoring him, and tags himself in. Cool, icy blue eyes immediately stare at him, Dean snarling at him. Mike shrugs and gets in the ring, expecting Dean to take the usual place on the apron... but instead, he hops down off of the ring entirely and makes his way backstage without a look back.

There's nothing for Mike to do but gasp after his disappearing partner, about to yell after him, go backstage. Once Dean is completely out of sight, Mike turns, his skin immediately pailing as Ethan snags him and hits the One Percenter, pinning Mike afterwards. All Mike can do is stare up at the bright lihgts overhead while Ethan celebrates his win, Mike shaking his head bemusedly.

The team of Sami Callihan and Rusev get a win against Ortiz and Jonathan Gresham. Following this is a seven man elimination chamber and, even with determined names in it like Seth Rollins and Johnny Mundo, Mustafa Ali walks out the winner after btoth men are eliminated quickly.

Paige decides to do something a little different with the last four matches of the night and makes a series of female matches. Natalya eakes out a victory against Su Yung. Ruby Riott uses her years of experience against Toni Storm, defeating her after landing a hurricarana that rattles Toni and leaves her unable to recover enough to fight back and kick out. Surprising wins continue as Ronda, still sore and emotional after defeating Nikki Bella, finds herself getting pinned by Sasha Banks after eating her knees in the corner, followed by a neckbreaker, Ronda too dazed and hurting to get her wits about her enough to kick out.

In the main event, Nia Jax finds herself in an intergender match against Finn Balor and she barely blinks, merely looking impatient when he seems reluctant to do anything truly physical with her, even when she taunts him to, eventually lifting him up and slamming him down when he continues to hesitate. He does stagger to his feet and try to fight back finally, but she's in the groove now and boots him hard under the jaw, landing a leg drop and hooking his nearest leg in a pin, Finn rolling onto his stomach once she gets off of him and the bell rings, her win being announced loudly. She stands up, laughing at the easy victory and the startled look on his face. Reaching out, she helps him to his feet and pats him heavily on the back, still looking amused. "Better luck next time!" she teases him and he huffs at her, finally giving in and grinning bemusedly, shaking his head as he leaves the ring to allow her time to celebrate the win properly by herself.


	153. chapter 153

William Regal looks interested as he wanders the hall of Team Work, arms crossed behind his back. After weeks of researching, investigating who could have possibly attacked Aleister Black, it's a relief to be able to get back to the simplistic act of managing a wrestling event- booking matches, overseeing everything to ensure that nothing too ridiculous will occur. He sighs and looks over his shoulder as wrestlers whisper and giggle amongst each other, seemingly as at ease as he is. Some of the NXT people are on the show tonight, but none seem too desperate for his attention so he walks towards where his office is and shuts the door behind him, staring down at the list of names of competitors from all wrestling brands this week. "Very well, let's see what we have here," he murmurs, sitting down to get to work.

The night starts off with AJ Styles and HHH teaming up to take on Brock Lesnar and Angelo Dawkins. HHH looks very worse for wear, his arm and pec taped up securely as he stares down the new Universal champion and one half of Evolve's new tag team champions. AJ clearly tries to wrestle most of the match due to HHH's injury, even though it clearly frustrates the COO, but it's the right call as the one time HHH does force the tag, Brock strong arms him quickly, slinging him clear across the ring, and he has no choice but to tag AJ back in. Angelo tags himself in, Brock cornering him for a moment before turning and punching AJ clear out, lifting him up for the F-5 and hopping out of the ring to watch, unimpressed, as Dawkins gapes for a few moments before diging for the pin, accepting the win in amazement. He'd just pinned the _World Heavyweight Champion!_

Taya Valkyri defeats Madison Rayne, and Big E fights off Pentagon Jr whenever he goes for his arm, using his ridiculous core muscles to overwhelm him at every turn, eventually kicking him clear off into position for the dive, which he accomplishes and scrambles for a pin, only breathing a little easier once the vicious man is down nad out, unable to fight back in possible way. Following this, Marty Scurll succeeds against Bushi.

Matt Taven comes out with his purple title belt, proclaiming to anyone who will listen how he is the _real_ ROH heavyweight champion, the crowd a bit split on their opinion of the matter. He ignores them all, turning his attention to the referee as he hands over his title belt, looking far from pleased as Kofi Kingston makes his way to the ring for their match. While Kofi wrestles his normal, risky style, Taven slows it down, plays it a bit safer. Forces Kofi to work at his speed, smirking whenever this makes Kofi stumble and unsure how to respond, Taven working a more ground game as he grinds his elbow into Kofi's shoulder, feeling the muscles twitch and seize under his arm. "Poor Kofi," he taunts. "Unable to fly off of everything in the vicinity like you'd want to ordinarily!" He hoists him up and immediately forces him back down by sweeping his legs out from under him and applying more pressure, digging into the other man's shoulders as he stretches him and digs in for the long haul.

It only lasts so long, however, as Kofi rallies and lands a kick to Matt's head, dazing him and sending him stumbling back just to get an SOS kick to the side of his face. Kofi hits the ropes and rebounds with a lariat that downs Matt long enough for a two count, Taven rolling free after the kick out and striking Kofi hard in the knee before forcing himself upright, holding onto the ropes to keep his footing. When Kofi lunges at him again, he ducks aside and laughs at the sound of Kofi striking the ropes and getting tangled up before flopping down to the mat before. This is the opportunity he needs, fighting upright once more and twisting him around before planting him into the mat with the Climax, rolling him onto his back and pinning him. As soon as the bells rings, he smirks up into the lights before getting to his feet and walking over to the ropes to rescue his title belt from the referee, staring out at the heckling crowd before laughing down at Kofi's barely motionless form, turning on his heel and leaving the ring with his custom title and the victory.

Despite Cesaro's best efforts, Santana wins against him, and PJ Black defeats Daga. Rey Mysterio finds himself partnering with Sheamus against Jeff Cobb and Hangman Page and, although neither man are thrilled by it, somehow they win when Rey sets Page up for a 619 and Sheamus takes out Cobb with a Brogue Kick. Nia wins against Sumie Sakai, and Oney Lorcan takes out Elias. Silas Young sneers in disdain upon finding himself partnering with Chad Gable, who is all grins and enthusiastic movements, Silas growling. "ARe you one of _his_ Boys too?" he snaps as their opponents come out, Chad looking truly confused until he turns to face Naito and TK O'Ryan. Neither team _get_ each other that well, but Chad runs quickly through his expertise, flooring both O'Ryan and Naito before either man has time to recover, just for Silas to tag in and end it on an unethused right hook across O'Ryan's jaw even as he sweeps his legs out from under him, pinning the already groggy man. "See, easy as that," he declares, sneering at Chad before turning to leave the ring.

Jenny Rose wins in a six woman tag match while partnering with Sasha Banks and Charlotte against Natalya, Kobra Moon and Ember Moon, the Lucha Underground competitors and "shenom" neither getting along that well, leaving Natalya distracted and unable to chain together enough moves to succeed. Following this, Sanada defeats Lince Durado, the member of Lucha House Party seemingly keeping an eye out for TJP or anyone else who may want to harm him or steal his mask away which leaves him susceptible to a quick loss.

The newest member of NJPW, Shingo Takagi, finds himself in a real trial by fire moment, in the ring facing off with The Brian Kendrick and... Shane McMahon himself. Wary gaze shifting from man to man, he waits for the bell, for the first move to be taken against him. Neither man seems to be in a hurry, however, and he frowns, Kendrick seemingly planning _something,_ his gaze calculating and shrewd, while Shane watches, lips twitched up in something like a smirk. Finally Kendrick decides to go for it, Shingo assumes, because he lunges forward and grabs Shingo, landing these rapid fire forearms that daze him and leave him struggling just to get a moment to breathe, using his size to his advantage, pushing Brian off and catching him on the return with a solid punch of his own, Brian grabbing at his face immediately. It's then Shane's turn, striking him with a mess of punches that aren't very well formed, but are startling enough that they do enough damage to him, Shingo gasping as the men start to take turns between punching him and landing forearms that it's almost a relief when Brian clotheslines him clear out of the ring and Shane kicks him down the rest of the way, allowing him to stand on the outside and watch as they circle each other, Brian's blue eyes locked on Shane's form while he waits for a chance to strike.

Shane pauses to do his shuffle dance, the crowd immediately responding to it, and that's Brian's opportunity, grabbing Shane and landing a few forearms, but Shane volleys back with punches and the two continue exchanging blows until Shane lands a solid strike on Kendrick's cheek bone that rocks him backwards, his eyes flashing as he lunges forward and strikes Shane with a knee to the midsection, winding him. Shane stumbles back, giving Kendrick enough space to grab him by the arm and whip him into the corner, Shane hitting hard and collapsing to the mat. Daniel immediately moves to lock in the Captain's hook and Shingo watches, shifting closing in preparation to break it while Shane writhes against the hold, scratching at Brian's fingers and gritting his teeth before he scoots over to the ropes, not enough to cause a rope break because of it being a triple threat, but enough to let him roll clear out of the ring, forcing Brian to break it or risk landing square on his face.

Shane breathes in and out heavily, trying to get feeling back into his neck after that submission, when Shingo grabs him and tosses him back into the ring, kicking Kendrick hard in the face before he can follow, then slinging him into the barricade wall, watching with some satisfaction as he hits hard. As Brian slumps there, dazed and barely able to move, Shingo follows Shane back in- just to get met with a solid kick straight to the jaw. He staggers and Shane plants him with a DDT, before looking around. There's only so much he can do right now while breathing is a struggle, but there's one easy thing that he always goes back, able to do the move in his sleep. So he forces Shingo over to the corner and sets him up just right before climbing the rope across the ring and diving, diving- striking him hard in the chest and jaw with his sneakers in a picture perfect coast to coast, dragging him out of the corner and pinning him. He sees out of the corner of his eye as Kendrick scrambles into the ring, but it's too late- Shane laughs breathlessly as the referee's hand slaps down for the third time, Shane officially the winner.

He doesn't really care about his win/loss record personally, but if it helps the Smackdown team keep the faith in their chances of succeeding at Survivor Series, then so be it.

Bobby Roode teams with Vinnie Marseglia to victory against Rich Swann and Matt Riddle, Vinnie holding Riddle down on the outside of the ring just long enough for Roode to lock in the Glorious Bomb on Swann and pinning him. Jonathan Gresham defeats Kalisto, and Danny Burch wins a triple threat match against Braun Strowman and Jeremiah Snake after Snake takes Braun out by targetting his knees, leaving him down on the outside, struggling but unable to return the ring, leaving himself open for Burch's rapid fire offense as he tries to get back into the ring to get to him, Burch eventually downing Jeremiah with a bridging DDT, holding him down just long enough for the three count.

Ortiz wins in a six man match, and Kushida defeats Raj Singh and Dolph Ziggler in a triple threat match. Shawn Michaels wrestles Jay Lethal, taking everything he has to offer, just to come to in time to stop his Lethal Injection attempt by meeting him mid-move and superkicking him hard in the jaw as he twists to land the stunner part of the move, Jay landing hard and Shawn pinning him before he could recover from the unexpected reversal. Bayley wins against Lita, and after a ridiculous, hard hitting match where neither competitor seems to stay on their feet all of that often, Mustafa Ali defeats Christopher Daniels. Both men are breathless, struggling after the match, but Mustafa forces himself upright and offers his hand to Daniels, pulling him to his feet once he takes it, the two men shaking each other's hands in respect of the war they were just in to determine a better man, at least for tonight. Jeff Hardy and Son of Havok find success against Gran Metalik and Rohit Raju.

In the main event, Nikki Cross competes against Trish Status, Trish a little weirded out by the woman's manic actions, barely getting a strike in on her before she's back in Trish's face, grinning and flushed as she stares up at her. "Trish, Trish, Trish," she chants, like a little girl that she may have been all of those years ago, watching the woman wrestle against the likes of Lita and Mickie James and so many others as they paved the way for women like her to be more, be better. Trish eventually shakes off how weirded out she is by Nikki's clear fan worship of her and tries to fight to a victory to put this to an end, but Nikki seems to know what she's going to do next better than Trish herself, taking each move with a maddening kind of giggle. When Nikki, however, stops playing, Trish isn't prepared, eating a hard couple of shots to the face and chest, surprising her and leaving her vulnerable for the Fisherman's neckbreaker, gasping up at the bright lights overhead as Nikki sprawls over her, giggling and whispering her name, before hoisting her upright and tornado DDTing her into the mat, pinning her. As she stands up and laughs maddeningly, Trish blinks dazedly at her, relieved that she'll be going back to her regular day to day life after this. Nikki laughs and claps, thrilled at the win, before rolling out of the ring and running around, teeth flashing as she races around within the crowd and celebrates the win.


	154. chapter 154

Stephanie's sick of her brother. Of Baron. Of pretty much everyone. So she takes charge, staring down all of the roster as she makes her way through the halls of the arena Team Work is being held at, not very comfortable with the Raw and Smackdown competitors sharing this space so close to Survivor Series, but it can't be helped. Best she can hope for is that having all of the other competitors from rival feds watching them will be enough to keep them on their best behavior, such as it is. So, it's with more than a little trepidation that she closes herself up in her office to work on the match listing for the evening, eager to hurry this along and get the show on the road, the faster they can get this done, the sooner they can all go back to wanting each other's ruination without this pesky obligation hanging over them.

The first match of the night pits Jonathan Gresham against Kalisto, the luchador all over the place, leaping circles around Gresham, but they're both determined to do the best they can this evening, the cycle coming to an end much too quickly for all of them to be prepared for. Despite Kalisto's best attempts at taking him down with his highflying ridiculousness, Gresham is prepared and once he gets ahold of Kalisto, plucking him out of midair, that's pretty much it for him, bracing his feet and hoisting him up in a German Suplex hold, bridging up into a pin that even Kalisto can't get out of, the momentum he'd pieced together during the match completely working against him. Gresham lets out a bark of laughter as the ref counts the three, rolling away from Kalisto and lifting his arms in success.

Buddy Murphy comes to the ring next, an unbother look on his face even as Bobby Lashley comes out for their match. He eyes him a time or two before looking away, handing his title over to the referee so the match could begin. They start slow, Buddy feeling things out, until Bobby grows impatient, gripping him by the wrist and pulling him close, landing a few clubbing blows until Buddy's able to get control of himself once more, landing a kick to Lashley's wrist until he lets go, staggering back and leaning against the ropes. As Lashley lunges for him, Buddy drops and rolls away, listening with some pleasure as Bobby flops out of the ring and hits the floor, cursing darkly. Buddy stands and brushes some of his hair out of his eyes, meeting Bobby with a dropkick to his chest, winding him and leaving him vulnerable to Murphy's Law, Buddy scrambling to pin him.

The crowd mumbles and boos when Bobby kicks out at 2, but Buddy moves right back into it, barely giving himself a minute to be disappointed, kneeing Lashley in the shoulder, working at keeping him down before rushing to the top rope, where he dives, getting enough height that his knees plant against Bobby's shoulders and down him just right, Buddy scrambling again for a proper pin. This time, thankfully, it works, the bell ringing to mark his victory, and Buddy hurries out of the ring as Lashley recovers enough to get to his feet and grab for him, Buddy already long gone as he laughs at Lashley's impotent rage from the top of the ramp, quirking an eyebrow at him before disappearing backstage, eager to take his win, his points, and get out of there.

Jey Uso defeats Jay Lethal after avoiding a Lethal Injection and hitting him with a splash from the top, and Jeff Cobb eakes out a win against Tanahashi.

Mickie James comes to the ring, smirking as she pulls off her jacket and hands it over to the referee, eyes sharpening as Becky Lynch makes her entrance, the crowd's response barely registering with her as she stares at Mickie, an intense look on her face. Mickie just laughs, unconcerned, motioning to her. "Well, c'mon, darlin," she calls out, and Becky sneers as the bell rings and the two of them come together, neither bothering to pull their punches as they fight for dominance, Mickie getting the first bit of significant offense, hoisting Becky up and over, the two of them scrambling to their feet and beginning it all over again, this time Becky getting control, sending Mickie into the corner and hitting her with a forearm, dropping her with a boot to the face when she staggers out and tries to fight back. It doesn't get her far, however- Mickie gets a few bursts of offense in, but the rest of the match is mainly Becky's, weakening Mickie's arm with kicks and knees to the shoulder joint, finally rearing down on it and pulling back, trapping her in the Disarmer. Mickie tries to struggle, get herself free, make it to the ropes for a break, but there's just no give in Becky and she collapses to the mat, tapping wildly until the referee gets Becky to break the hold, the Smackdown woman's champion standing over her with a smug kind of ferocity that the crowd cheers on, Mickie rolling agonizingly slowly out of the ring as she absorbs yet another win, another point gained towards the cycle.

The Bouncers suffer back to back losses as Samoa Joe defeats Brian MIlonas, and Moose takes out Beer City Bruiser. Tucker Knight gains a win against Fenix, and Apollo Crews pulls out all of his tricks against Lars Sullivan, only _just_ getting a victory against him when he's distracted by Velveteen Dream's music hitting, just to fade away, the man not appearing and leaving the monstrous man confused, distracted just long enough for Apollo to grab him from behind and slingshot him down, hurrying up to the top to hit a shooting star press that winds Lars _just_ long enough, the referee in good enough position to count, and as soon as Apollo realizes what's happened, he's up and gone, stumbling up the ramp while Lars roars in anger from the ring, glowering out at him with rage in his eyes.

Dakota Kai wins against Jordynn Grace, and The Mack defeats Rey Mysterio. Pentagon Jr succeeds against Elias and Otis Dozovic is rewarded for having to partner with the loud, obnoxious LIo Rush by gaining the victory against Jimmy Uso while his partner, Drew McIntyre, chases Lio around the ring, an angry look on his face after the 24 year old piece of gold had tried wrenching him off of the apron, just for realization to dawn, giving Otiz just enough time and opportunity to take advantage.

Naomi's speed helps her against Nia Jax, keeping her out of the woman's path of destruction enough to land a few solid kicks, get more distance, before staggering her with the Rear View. Before Nia could recover, Naomi goes uptop and dropkicks her down, grabbing ahold of her and trying to pin her, just for Nia to kick out almost immediately. Naomi doesn't give up, however, continuing to avoid and fight back, Nia growing more and more frustrated as she fails to catch the other woman. "OH COME ON!" she cries out, hands closing around thin air once more, Naomi landing another series of kicks to her back and sides before running to safety again. Nia's hatred makes her sloppy and Naomi lands a solid calf kick, Nia hitting the mat hard, dazed and too frustrated to think straight. Naomi goes right for another cover, and this time, she hooks the leg, getting enough momentum to actually maintain it... the bell ringing almost a relief for both women as Naomi laughs her up the ramp, Nia staring at her coolly as she works her way back up to her feet, danger in her gaze.

The main event sees Johnny Mundo partnering up with Lince Durado against Jake Strong and Dalton Castle, Mundo greeting Lince with a quick fist bump while Jake tries to lecture Dalton on how he thinks the match should go, the freshly returned peacock barely listening to him as he hands his sparkly robe off to the Boys waiting patiently by ringside, hopping up and down on their bare feet as the bell rings and Dalton takes his place at the turnbuckle, tag rope held securely in hand. Mundo and Strong start the match off, Mundo getting an early advantage with an armdrag, but Jake fights back, kicks Mundo hard in the head and gets to his feet, quickly going to work on John's ankle, trying to weaken him quickly for his submission. John, however, uses his agility to his advantage and kicks Jack off, writhing away from him and getting to his feet in his corner, looking over at Lince, who nods emphatically, tagging himself in.

Jake takes over quickly, running Lince over quickly, barely letting the masked man get a breath in, much less any kind of significant offense. John is clearly regretting tagging him in when Jack hits the ropes near Dalton, and feels the familiar slap of fingers against his back, the referee calling for the tag. Jack corners Dalton, screaming in disbelief at him, before the referee orders him out, Jack glowering from the corner as Dalton teases and plays with Lince, poking him with the toe of his boot. "Here, kitty kitty," he calls out.

"OH COME ON!" Jack roars out, Mundo laughing at him as he shakes his hair out and leans against the ropes, watching as Lince gets up and he and Dalton begin exchanging offense in earnest, Lince in his element against someone who actually likes to compete and not just railroad opponents.

Mundo hisses out a breath as Lince gets caught in a suplex, Dalton's form impeccable despite all of his problems the last year, his Boys hopping around, waving their fans enthusiastically from the outside. That is, until Strong rounds on them. "SHUT UP AND STAND STILL!" he yells at them, both Boys cowering away.

"Hey!" Dalton yells out, rolling out of the ring and getting between Jack and his Boys, fire in his eyes. "How dare you-"

They're arguing on the outside, neither realizing that Mundo has tagged in until he and Lince both dive out of the ring, taking out both men, the Boys freaking out and rushing around Dalton, trying to fan him off as he struggles upright, Mundo tossing him into the ring. "Sorry to do this to ya, buddy, maybe some time we'll have a proper match without the distractions, huh?" John calls out from where he's crouched on the top rope, lithe body diving off and spinning repeatedly before hitting in a brutal End of the World that completely takes Dalton out of it, the pin more or less a foregone conclusion. Johnny doesn't stall, as soon as the three count is struck, he's off of Dalton and going after Jack, avoiding Dalton's Boys as they slip into the ring to go to him, make sure he's alright.

Unfortunately, Jack gets away so Mundo stops long enough to help Lince up and then rolls back into the ring, smiling at the Boys as he kneels by Dalton and brushes his hair out of his eyes, reaching a hand out to him. "Next time, huh?" he asks. "One v one, a proper match."

"I'd like that," Dalton forces out, letting go of his aching ribs long enough to reach out and take John's hand, shaking it as his lips twitch up into a smirk and his Boys slowly resume fanning him off.

John chuckles, getting to his feet and helping Dalton up as well, the Boys slowly moving with them. _Sometimes, I really love wrestling in all of its absolute ridiculousness_ , he thinks, watching as the Boys fuss over Dalton. Shrugging, John goes to the top of the ropes and poses, celebrating his win finally, grin spreading across his face as he takes in the crowd's support.


	155. chapter 155

For the second week in a row, Stephanie finds herself at Team Work, keeping an eye on things, booking matches, counting scores. As it stands, there's only one clear winner for the cycle, but she knows there's always a chance that things could change, especially with thirteen matches to come. So she sits back and she watches and she waits.

The first match pits Ricochet vs Lince Durado vs Sheamus, but Sheamus and Ricochet are so busy brutalizing each other, that neither notice Lince preparing to dive from the top rope, taking both of them out. Ricochet goes clean out of the ring, Sheamus so shocked that he lays there, barely moving, until Lince pins him. He then kicks out, but before he can get moving again, Lince is on the top rope and lands another crossbody, sending him down and this time managing a pin that gets him a three count. He laughs wildly before dashing up the entrance ramp, his teeth flashing as he grins happily, leaving both shocked opponents of his in the dust.

Despite a promising early showing, Matt Riddle gets just a little too comfortable a little too early, and Cesaro makes him pay for it with a rough upper-cross right to the face, Riddle's confidence wavering, his balance shot as he tries to regain some kind of momentum, but it's lost to him, Cesaro plants him into the mat, and then rolls him up, pinning him. Drew Gulak and Kyle O'Reilly eake out a victory against Cedric Alexander and a visibly injured Braun Strowman, his arm held rigidly to his side the entire time he's at ringside.

A newly aggressive Charlotte finds herself partnering with Tamina against Bianca Belair and Su Yung, neither woman looking that eager to get in the ring against her after what she did to Ronda Rousey. Su leaves it to Bianca, who yells at her a few times before turning, just to get whipped onto her back, Charlotte hoisting her back to her feet and landing a few solid strikes against her chest, Bianca yelling out in frustration, especially when Su drops away and refuses the tag. Tamina _almost_ looks amused as Charlotte finishes Bianca with the Figure Eight, then storms up to their corner and stares her in the eye. "Tell your cousin if she ever tries to step up to me, what she did to Becky will look like childs play in comparison to what I do to her." Tamina rolls her eyes but lifts her hands in supplication, agreeing to do so as Charlotte turns on her heel and storms off.

Jimmy Uso and Johnny Mundo put on a ridiculous, high-speed, high-action, risky match that leaves most of the crowd gasping as they struggle to keep their eye on one of the two men. Finally, Mundo scrambles out of the way of a splash, hurries up onto the top rope and hits End of the World before Jimmy could recover, getting the victory. Following this, Brian Cage wins an eight man.

Seth Rollins is clearly still distracted by everything going on with Dean Ambrose so hsi best attempts against Hanson ending in a loss is no surprise to anyone, much less himself, his hair wet and tangling all around his head as he leans against the ropes, looking miserable and uncertain about what exactly just happened, how it all went so bad so fast.

The crowd buzzes when Brock Lesnar comes out next, hopping from side to side as Ortiz walks to the ring. They stare at each other and Lesnar rolls his eyes, going to the ropes. "Hey, Paul, get up here."

"Yes?" the advocat asks, tilting his head as Brock stares over his shoulder at the man, whispering to Paul. "Oh, that's a wrestler from TNA's tag division, Brock. You know-"

All interest immediately leaves Brock and he rolls his eyes, motioning to Paul. As he hops off of the apron, Brock rolls out of the ring. The referee gapes on, as confused as Ortiz, finally having no choice but to begin to count the Beast out. Hitting ten, he has no choice but to ring the bell and award the count out victory to an annoyed, perplexed Ortiz.

Bobby Roode defeats Frankie Kazarian, and Marty Scurll wins in a six man match that had him partnering with Aleister Black and Akam against Rezar, Jeff Hardy and Big SHow. Shayna Bazsler defeats Tessa Blanchard early, and the team os Bobby Lashley, Baron Corbin, Buddy Murphy and Kalisto is declared the victor in an eight man tag match against Tommaso Ciampa, Chad Gable, Scorpio Sky, and Santana.

The main event is a triple threat pitting Ember Moon vs Nia Jax vs Lacey Evans. Lacey seems content to let the former friends brawl it out, Ember only just holding her own by avoiding the worst of Nia's attacks, but when she does eventually tries to interject herself, she ends up getting taken out by one of Nia's solid punches, just for Ember to sneak out of nowhere and land an Eclipse on Nia, who immediately staggers and collapses, Ember getting the three count. She laughs and raises her hand in victory before heading up the ramp.

She's just made it backstage when Stephanie herself meets her, an almost sympathetic smile on her face. "Hello, Ember."

"Oh, hello, Ms. McMahon-Helmsley," she greets her nervously.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute before I make any sort of decision," Stephanie tells her, only adding to the tension in Ember's shoulders. "Follow me, please?" They walk side by side down the hallway and Stephanie clears her throat once they're in a more private part of the arena. "Now the reason I need to talk to you is because you are one of three competiters tied at #1 for this cycle."

Ember's eyes widen. "Oh- oh wow-"

"Before you want to go celebrate, there's something you need to know about it. The other two are Sami Callihan and Bobby Lashley." Stephanie watches grimly as some of the excitement fades from Ember's eyes. "Right. So we have a decision to make. I can grant two winners of the cycle and you can move on, or I can make a triple threat for next week to decide it once and for all. Whatever you feel most comfortable with."

Ember closes her eyes, thinking it over. Finally she squares her shoulders and stares Stephanie in the eye. "I'll take the triple threat," she decides, Stephanie nodding.

"I assumed you probably would, but on the off chance I was wrong, I wanted to discuss it wiht you first." She pats Ember on the shoulder. "I'll be seeing you next week then."

Ember nods, watching as Stephanie walks off, turning the corner out of sight. As soon as she's sure she's alone, Ember allows the doubts to creep in, wondering if perhaps... perhpas she'd picked the wrong option after all...


	156. chapter 156

The crowd is buzzing early. The show hasn't technically started yet, but they're preparing. The first match out will determine the winner of the previous cycle, Stephanie watching as they test things out. Once done, Ember Moon makes her to the ring, followed by Sami Callihan and then Bobby Lashley. She stands in her corner, watching the men as they warily wait for the bell to ring. Once done, they ignore her, Callihan immediately falling back on defense as Lashley brutalizes him with clubbing blows along his back and neck. Ember grows frustrated, then angry, as they ignore her.

She leaps forward and lands on Lashley's back, bracing for it as he throws her off, her body hitting hard and bouncing back towards the ropes. She fights up to her feet, glaring at him as she wipes at her lips. Trying again to attack, she's not that shocked when he plants his hands on either of her shoulders and pushes with as much pressure as he dares, sending her rolling back into the ropes, almost falling out of the ring thanks to the force of it all. She struggles to get to her feet, watching him continue to demolish Callihan, ducking aside to avoid his getting suplexed on her. Before Lashley could follow up, she starts landing strikes on Sami's prone form, trying to weaken him further...

when Lashley pushes her off of him, shaking his head warningly at her as the anger grows within her. She leaps to her feet, face to face with him, and he sneers at her, moving to push her away once more when she grabs him and tries to twist into some sort of offense... just to get completely overpowered, sent down to the mat where she lays in a crumpled heap, dazed. He huffs at her before leaving her laying and returning to Callihan's side. All she can do is watch, too weak and dazed after so many failed attempts, as Lashley hoists Sami up and hits a Running Powerslam, pinning Sami without any hesitation. Ember groans as all of her hopes at a title opportunity of her choosing slips through her fingers, Lashley celebrating to begin the night off in earnest.

Paige oversees everything, signing the contract with Lashley looking over her shoulder, impatient to put his own name down on it, to grant him a title opportunity of his choice in the future, before turning her attention to the rest of the night. Books matches as quickly as she can, getting the first set of wrestlers out to the ring to get things moving as the crowd sits, impatiently waiting for the show to continue.

Lucha House Rules continue in some fashion, as Kalisto teams with Akira Tozawa and Kenny Omega against Bobby Roode and Dezmond Xavier, but the numbers advantage doesn't hold this time as Roode gets the advantage after knocking both Kalisto and Omega off of the ropes with lariats and hits a Glorious Bomb on Tozawa, defeating him before Omega or Kalisto could do anything to stop it.

Kelly Klein defeats Carmella, and KM wins against LInce Dorado. Randy Orton teams up with Keith Lee and, although they don't quite gel well enough to work together too much, they still eake out the win against Matt Jackson and R-Truth, Orton grinning dementedly after twisting Matt's body into another of his RKOs out of nowhere.

Nikki Cross squares off against Tamina, laughing wildly at her and rocking back and forth on her heels as she digs her fingers into her hair and tilts her head, staring at the woman. "Let's play," she chants. "Let's play, let's play, let's play!" Tamina quickly grows tired of her babble and lunges forward, trying to kick her square in the jaw to shut her up, but Nikki sidesteps and then sweeps Tamina's feet out from under her, laughing and clapping as she looks down at the woman. Tamina, however, rockets back to her feet and grabs Nikki, punching her again and again, Nikki only seeming to enjoy it more and more the angrier Tamina gets. Finally she pulls away, takes a few deep breaths, and forces herself to calm.

Nikki looks like she's about to say something more when Tamina grips her and slams her backwards, straddling her to elbow her brutally in the face. Nikki immediately goes limp under her, and Tamina makes her way to the top. She only pauses momentarily before diving down, splashing across Nikki's prone body and pins her down to the mat, nodding in time with the referee's count before the bell rings to declare her the winner. "Play with _that_ ," she snaps at Nikki, pushing her face aside and getting to her feet with a sneer on her face as her hand is lifted in victory.

In the following match, Kofi Kingston and Big E find themselves on opposite sides of the ring, staring at each other incredulously. E is tagging with Matt Taven, while Kofi is alongside Nick Jackson, something neither man seems thrilled with. Matt and Nick brutalize each other early, Taven containing a lot of anger from his time away, all of the bad that had happened in the weeks since. His hair, for one. Jay Lethal claiming what's his. He hits NIck again and again, trying to make this match end quickly, prove yet again why he's the true ROH World Heavyweight Champion, when Kofi pulls the save, and BIg E does nothing to help. Taven glowers at him, in shock, and moves to tag him in, slapping him across the chest hard.

"Hey! Those are delicate!" Big E yells at him before getting into the ring, grumbling under his breath. They fight but neither can quite get the edge, Big E's slams and Nick's superkicks never quite enough to end the other. Nick then tags Kofi in and he just stands there and watches on awkwardly, not wanting to hurt his fellow New Day brethern. It's clear E feels the same and soon everyone gets tired of this waiting game, Nick rolling his eyes and tagging in. He doesn't have the same luck this time, quickly hoisted up and planted with the Big Ending, pinned and defeated in the blink of an eye. Matt Taven is _pissed_ that Big E took the point, but all he can do is laugh as he waves at his temporary partner, smacking Kofi on the shoulder and speaking with him, smile growing as Kofi shakes his head and laughs, only a little disturbed at the loss.

Natalya wins against Naomi and Suzuki beats Chad Gable quickly, leading into a tag team where Jinder Mahal and the Singh brothers find themselves looking horrified at his tag partner- Kikutaro! Tony Nese laughs incredulously at the man as he approaches the ring to partner wth Lars Sullivan, who isn't even a little distracted by the strange wrestlers' appearance. Lars isn't the best partner, only stares on intensely, as Tony eats offense after offense, Jinder content in the ring as he overpowers Chad at pretty much every turn. Some reprieve comes when Kikutaru climb into the ring, just for Tony to tag in Lars. The damage is rough, extreme, sudden, Kikatoru unable to stand or do much of anything once Lars is finished slamming him around, then all but throwing him into the corner to allow him to tag out, which Jinder fails to understand in the slighest... until Lars tags in Tony once more and Tony gasps in confusion, yelling out at Lars as he hops off of the ropes and heads for the entrance ramp. "NO!" It's too late, Jinder hits the Kallas and ends the match by grabbing Tony's leg and holding it tightly to pin him just in case, Tony Nese staring up at the night sky in shock.

In a not terribly unexpected finish, Ronda Rousey defeats Charlotte. An uneasy silnce fills the stadium and everyone watches for what Charlotte may do. The majority of the crowd, however, is disappointed and lets it show in derision and boos as the queen sneers at them all before storming backstage, glowering at anything or anyone in her path _Tomorrow will be a better day..._

The man event is a six man match, piting Gran Metalik, Asuka and Fallah Bahh against Brian Kendrick, Alicia Fox, and Alisha Edwards. The two teams seem uncertain who to start with, Asuka finally leading off against Alisha. Alisha is overwhelmed quickly and needs out as Asuka seems to just be having fun with her, leaving her floundering on the mat after a quick hip attack, Alisha gasping and lunging over to tag Alicia in, Alicia gaping at her. "Seriously?!" She tries her best, she really does, but Asuka is too fast, too energized for her, and Alicia finds herself down almost as quickly as Alisha, Brian scrubbing his face with his hands in frustration as the match falls apart around them. "HEY!" she yells at him, angry and turning her back to Asuka. "This isn't my FAULT!"

Asuka takes advantage and powers her up and over, Alicia's long limbs flailing all over before she impacts the mat, blinking up in a daze. Asuka laughs down at her before moving to tangle her up in the Asuka Lock, just for the crowd to gasp and react negatively as Kendrick enters and pulls Asuka off of his partner, just for Metalik to dive in from the top rope and get his legs around Kendrick's shoulders, whipping him over and dashing back to her corner before the referee has a complete fit. Alicia kicks Asuka off and moves to the corner, trying to tag Alisha in, but she misjudges where she's going and tags in a still dazed Kendrick, watching as he enters the ring and finds himself face to face with Fallah Bahh, stopping short and backing up as he lifts his hands in supplication, eyes wide, but then he's saved- Alisha tags herself in, Foxy sounding completely angry as she screams at the woman, even though it works ok- Fallah Bahh takes one look at her and lumbers back over to his corner, tagging in Asuka.

She says something in Japanese to him which even he doesn't seem to catch, before storming into the ring to finish off Alisha. She's met, however, with a dropkick that rocks her, and the next thing she knows, Alicia and Alisha are doubleteaming her, Alicia landing her Northern Lights Suplex before quickly getting out of the ring, turning in time to see Alisha lock in the Guillotine Drop, rolling up Asuka afterwards. When the bell rings, it's a shock to pretty much everyone, Alisha hopping up and down and celebrating her win. "Yes! I have a point!" she cheers, Alicia shaking her head in amazement that she'd actually pulled it off while Brian stares out at Fallah Bahh and Metalik, who both look surprised at just how everything's shook out tonight while they walk up the ramp, Asuka still digesting this loss from where she slumps on the outside, Alisha's celebration echoing around them for what feels like a lifetime until a tech alerts them they're not being broadcast any longer.


End file.
